LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas โ Aspects of a new crypto mining law in Arkansas are being reconsidered just one year after it went into effect.
State lawmakers authorized a study this week on what changes they can make to the current law in light of concerns that have arisen over the past year.
The goal of Act 851, said sponsor Sen. Joshua Bryant (R-Rogers), was to limit local government's ability to pass regulations targeting cryptocurrency mining.
โWhat the bill was was really kind of a preemption bill that said there is local control,โ Bryant said. "Once they're up and running, you can't just go back and shut them down."
When the law was passed, crypto mining sites began to emerge and communities went to city hall and local government authorities to ask that these sites be banned.
Bryant said Arkansans, whom he calls the "good actors," already had these crypto mining facilities up and running and were concerned that local governments were shutting them down without due process.
โBy then, the local government had already let them in, so Law 851 would provide the same protection to bad actors,โ he said.
Starting in the 2023 session, there is also a new law in Arkansas that prohibits companies controlled by foreign parties from owning agricultural land in the state.
As for the crypto mining sites, Attorney General Tim Griffin has been investigating for months, but so far there are no confirmed holdings under this foreign leadership.
Bryant said changes to the law after the study would likely come in 2025 through some amendments.
