Arkansas Seeks Reversal of Injunction Against Law Restricting Foreign Entities' Digital Asset Mining

Odaily: Arkansas and its Oil and Gas Commission on Tuesday asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit during oral arguments to vacate an injunction issued by a lower court. The injunction bars enforcement of a law restricting foreign entities from holding interests in digital asset mining operations. The lower court had previously found that the law was likely preempted by federal regulations and therefore invalid. Joseph Nelson of the Arkansas Attorney General's Office countered that the law falls within the core of the state's police power and that the restrictions target the same countries the federal government has identified as threats to national security. The law, passed in 2024, prohibits citizens or companies of countries subject to U.S. State Department arms export controls from holding interests in digital asset mining equipment in the state.