US State Proposes Bill To Prevent Bitcoin From Becoming ‘Money’

by James · March 2, 2023

Dennis Porter, CEO and co-founder of the Satoshi Act Fund, shared a shocking news via Twitter today that can be understood as a massive attack on Bitcoin in the United States. Carrier wrote that the state of South Dakota is trying to pass a law that would exclude Bitcoin from the definition of “money” while providing a safe path for CBDCs.

“This law would ensure that only governments can create ‘money’ which on its face would exclude all digital assets,” said Porter, who went on to explain that the bill states that no medium of exchange could be considered “money” unless it was “approved or adopted by the Government” before it existed as a medium of exchange. The bill reads:

Money means a medium of exchange currently authorized or adopted by a domestic or foreign government. The term includes a monetary unit of account established by an international organization or by an agreement between two or more countries.

The term does not include an electronic record that is a medium of exchange registered and transferable in a system that existed and operated for the medium of exchange before the medium of exchange was approved or adopted by the authorities.

The worst part, according to Porter, is that efforts are being made to enforce this policy in 21 different states in the United States. “It is apparently aimed at building a bullpen of pro-CBDC states that also excludes digital assets like Bitcoin from the definition of money,” Porter interpreted the law, showing the map below of US states that may follow the bill.

Bitcoin vs CBDCs — Pro-CBDC States That May Follow South Dakota | Source: Twitter @Dennis_Porter_

Is the bill a threat to Bitcoin?

Yaël Ossowski, deputy director of the Consumer Choice Center (CCC) commented on South Dakota’s push by saying that there are standard formulations that already exist in other states. Still, the bill is a threat to Bitcoin, he added:

It is based on model policy from the Association of Bank Supervisors, which has been able to work with the Uniform Law Commission to come up with this proposal. It will have minimal teeth, but it is still a threat to BTC.

Andy Roth, president of the State Freedom Caucus Network, also acknowledged that this is a “big deal.” The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) is a set of business laws that govern financial contracts and transactions that apply in all states. Roth went on to explain:

The UCC creates the framework for CBDCs to be accepted (and Bitcoin denied) via Amazon and all other retailers. All digital transactions. This must be stopped. The good news is that we still have a chance to kill this in the other 49 states.

However, it is worth mentioning that Bitcoin is gaining increasing support in a number of US states, and the Satoshi Act Fund has contributed to this to a large extent. As Bitcoinist reported, Texas and New Hampshire have launched Bitcoin-friendly laws, as has Montana, among others.

At press time, the Bitcoin price was at $23,397, struggling to hold the key support at $23,350.