BATON ROUGE, La.—The state of Louisiana has amended its legislation to ban the use of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and set rules for miners and node operators.
The revised law will become effective in August 2024.
According to Cointelegraph, the amendments, dubbed the Blockchain Basics Act, prohibit the state of Louisiana from participating in tests and accepting or requiring payments using a CBDC. However, other digital currencies are not prohibited by the legislation, the report stated.
“A governing authority shall not participate in any test of central bank digital currency by the Board of Governor,” the Act states, according to Cointelegraph.
‘Tight Controls’
Louisiana is also enforcing tight controls over foreign-owned digital asset mining companies. The state’s legislation prohibits foreign parties from acquiring or maintaining any stake in digital asset mining operations within Louisiana, Cointelegraph added.
Effective from Aug. 1, foreign-controlled businesses currently engaged in digital asset mining in Louisiana will have a one-year window to divest their interests fully. The law stipulates significant penalties for noncompliance, which can reach up to $1 million or 25% of the foreign party’s stake in the mining operation, Cointelegraph said.