South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has vetoed a bill that prohibits the use of cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, as money. The invoice, posing as an update to the Universal Commercial Code (UCC) guidelines, it also paves the way for Central bank digital currencies (CBDC). Emphasizing that this bill is clearly “a threat to our liberty,” the governor urged another 20 states that are about to consider a similar bill to “block passage of this legislation.”
South Dakota Governor Vetoes Bill ‘Banning’ Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies for Use as Money
The US state government of South Dakota announced Friday that Gov. Kristi Noem has vetoed House Bill 1193 “which would infringe on digital currency freedom.” In her veto letter, the governor explained:
HB 1193 adopts a definition of “money” to specifically exclude cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, as well as other digital assets. At the same time, these UCC reviews include central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as money.
Noting that the bill was over 110 pages long, the governor explained in an interview with Fox News on Friday that it was “sold as an update to the UCC (Uniform Commercial Code) guidelines, endorsed by all of our financial institutions, our banks .”
She detailed: “When we started reading it, we saw the section of the bill that changed the definition of currency. And essentially, what it did was pave the way for a government-run CBDC, and it also banned any other form of cryptocurrency, bitcoin or digital currency that existed.”
The governor emphasized that to her, “it was clearly a threat to our liberty,” noting that South Dakota is the first state to “really look at this bill and find out the truth of what’s in it.”
20 other states are about to consider a similar bill
Governor Noem further detailed: “We have the same language in 20 other states. I think it’s to pave the way for the federal government to control our currency and therefore control the people. It should be alarming to everyone, and is being sold as an update to the UCC guidelines.”
The governor further warned that “if the government’s CBDC becomes the only legal digital currency,” then the government “will control how you spend that money and that will take away all your freedom.” She tweeted on Saturday:
More than 20 other states have the same UCC language in front of them. These bills change the definition of “money,” make it harder to use cryptocurrency, and make it easier for the federal government to impose a CBDC. These states must block the passage of this legislation.
In her veto letter, the governor expressed several concerns. First, she said that “by expressly excluding cryptocurrency as money, it would make it more difficult to use cryptocurrency. By unnecessarily limiting this freedom, HB 1193 would put South Dakotans at a business disadvantage.”
Furthermore, Noem said that “by defining ‘money’ in this proposed way, HB 1193 opens the door to the risk that the federal government could more easily adopt a CBDC, which may then become the only viable digital currency.”
The Governor concluded: “At this time, a government-backed electronic currency has not been created,” emphasizing:
It would be unwise to create rules that regulate something that does not yet exist. More importantly, South Dakota should not open the door to possible future overreach by the federal government.
What do you think about the UCC guidelines update that attempts to ban the use of cryptocurrencies as money and paves the way for government-run central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), as described by Governor Noem? Let us know in the comments section.
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