Crypto Gains State-Level Support As South Carolina Bans Federal CBDCs
South Carolina is now certainly one of greater than a dozen US states which have handed legal guidelines defending cryptocurrency rights — and it did so with virtually no pushback.
Governor Henry McMaster signed Senate Bill 163 on May 19, including it to a rising stack of state-level digital asset legal guidelines which have quietly moved by Republican-controlled legislatures throughout the nation.
A Near-Unanimous Vote That Signals Shifting Ground
The bill cleared the South Carolina Senate 38-1, a margin that claims greater than the regulation itself. Filed in January 2025, it spent 17 months working by the legislative course of — passing the Senate in May of that 12 months, getting reconciled with House amendments in April 2026, and touchdown on the governor’s desk this month.
Senators Daniel Verdin and Matthew Leber sponsored the invoice. It now provides a brand new Chapter 47 to Title 34 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, laying out one of many extra detailed state-level crypto frameworks within the nation.
The regulation prohibits state authorities companies from accepting or requiring funds in a central financial institution digital foreign money. It additionally bars these companies from becoming a member of any Federal Reserve CBDC pilot or testing program.
But the definition issues: the invoice describes a CBDC as a digital foreign money issued instantly by the US Federal Reserve or a federal company. Privately issued stablecoins backed by authorized tender or authorities treasuries — resembling USDC — fall exterior that definition and stay permitted below state regulation.
What The Law Actually Covers
Beyond the CBDC ban, S.163 covers a variety of crypto exercise. Individuals and companies are protected against being blocked from accepting digital property as fee for authorized items and companies.
Self-hosted and {hardware} wallets are formally acknowledged, permitting customers to carry their very own property with out authorities interference. State and native governments are additionally barred from taxing digital asset funds at greater charges than different fee sorts.
The regulation’s definition of digital property is broad, overlaying cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, fungible tokens, non-fungible tokens, and different digital-only property that carry financial, proprietary, or entry rights.
Crypto mining operations additionally get authorized cowl. Local governments can not impose unfair zoning guidelines, extreme noise restrictions, or laws that single out mining companies.
Node operations, blockchain software program growth, staking companies, and mining actions are exempt from cash transmitter license necessities below sure situations.
Staking-as-a-service and mining-as-a-service suppliers won’t mechanically be labeled as securities issuers below state regulation.
At the identical time, the South Carolina Attorney General retains authority to prosecute fraud involving anybody who falsely claims to supply these companies — a client safety measure constructed instantly into the regulation.
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