South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster has signed legislation protecting the use, custody and mining of digital assets in the state while also blocking participation in any central bank digital currency programs.
The new law, known as Bill 163, grants legal protections to individuals, businesses and Bitcoin miners operating in South Carolina. Additionally, the legislation bars the state from supporting or testing a central bank digital currency, often referred to as a digital dollar.
Lawmakers first introduced the bill in January 2025. Subsequently, the South Carolina Senate passed it in April that year before sending it to the House Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee. The committee returned a favorable report in April 2026. Meanwhile, the House approved the measure earlier this month in a 110-to-1 vote.
The legislation states that businesses and individuals cannot face restrictions for accepting digital assets as payment for legal goods and services. Furthermore, residents may use hardware wallets or self-hosted wallets to maintain custody of their cryptocurrency holdings.
The bill also protects digital asset mining operations in industrially zoned areas. However, mining companies must comply with existing sound pollution rules and avoid placing excessive strain on the electrical grid.
In addition, the law removes money transmitter licensing requirements for cryptocurrency miners, blockchain software developers and node operators. Lawmakers framed the measure as an effort to encourage blockchain innovation while limiting government interference in digital asset activities.
South Carolina legislators have also considered broader cryptocurrency legislation in recent years. Last year, lawmakers introduced the Strategic Digital Assets Reserve Act, also known as House Bill 4256.
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Several states have taken major policy steps in crypto
That proposal would allow the state treasurer to invest up to 10 per cent of certain public funds into Bitcoin. Additionally, lawmakers argued inflation had weakened the purchasing power of state-managed assets and retirement funds.
The reserve bill moved to the Committee on Ways and Means in March 2025. However, lawmakers have not provided further updates since then.
Several U.S. states have taken major steps on cryptocurrency and CBDC policy over the past year. Additionally, Texas, New Hampshire and Arizona advanced legislation tied to strategic Bitcoin reserves or state-managed digital asset funds. Texas later signed a law establishing a state Bitcoin reserve.
Meanwhile, multiple Republican-led states introduced bills opposing central bank digital currencies over privacy and government surveillance concerns. South Carolina joined that movement by banning state participation in CBDC testing programs and protecting self-custody rights for cryptocurrency users.
Furthermore, several states expanded legal protections for Bitcoin miners and blockchain developers while easing licensing requirements for digital asset businesses. Illinois took a different approach and focused more heavily on consumer protections and regulatory oversight for cryptocurrency firms.
At the federal level, lawmakers also advanced major cryptocurrency legislation in 2025, including the GENIUS Act and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act. Consequently, digital asset regulation has rapidly become a major political and economic issue across the United States.
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