• South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem vetoed legislation (House Bill 1193) that would have excluded cryptocurrencies from the definition of money.
• The bill was intended to amend provisions of South Dakota’s Uniform Commercial Code, and would have classified CBDCs as money.
• Critics believed the bill would legalize CBDCs while outlawing all other digital assets, and insinuated it was part of a wider plan to assemble a coalition of pro-CBDC states.

South Dakota Governor Vetoes Crypto Money Bill

South Dakota governor Kristi Noem has formally rejected legislation that would have excluded bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies from the definition of money. Known as House Bill 1193, the legislation was intended to amend provisions of South Dakota’s Uniform Commercial Code to exclude digital assets from being defined as “money” in the state.

Why Gov. Noem Vetoed the Bill

Explaining why she vetoed the bill, gov. Noem said that explicitly excluding crypto as money would make it difficult for South Dakota residents to use their crypto holdings and put them at a disadvantage when trading with people in other states. Gov. Noem also stated that the definition of money in HB 1193 could create a loophole for the federal government to adopt central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and make them the only viable forms of digital money.

Background on HB 1193

Republican Mike Stevens introduced the 117-page bill in the state’s House of Representatives, which passed it earlier this month. It defines money as a possible medium of exchange only if it is “authorized or adopted” by a government. The bill’s wording means that bitcoin (BTC) and other privately created digital currencies are not money, but government-controlled CBDCs such as the Chinese Digital Yuan are.

Criticism for HB 1193

Critics believed the bill would make it so that only governments could create “money,” therefore legalizing CBDCs while outlawing all other digital assets. According to Dennis Porter, CEO and co-founder of Satoshi Action Fund, the same bill is being pushed in 21 different states across the U.S.

Conclusion

He insinuated HB 1193 was part of a wider plan to assemble a coalition of pro-CBDC states that exclude digital assets like bitcoin from the definition of money.