Arkansas cryptocurrency mining law to face possible changes in 2025 regarding foreign

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Aspects of a new crypto-mining law in Arkansas are now being reconsidered just one year after taking effect.

State lawmakers authorized a study this week regarding changes they can make to the current law in light of concerns that have come up over the last year. 

The point of Act 851, sponsor Sen. Joshua Bryant (R-Rogers) said, was to limit local government’s ability to pass regulations targeting crypto mining.

“What the bill was, was really kind of a preemption bill that says hey local control exists,” Bryant said. “Once they’re up and operated, you can’t just back down and shut them down.”

When the law passed, crypto mining sites began cropping up and communities went to city council and local government authorities asking to stop these sites from going in. 

Bryant said Arkansans, whom he’s calling the “good actors,” already had these crypto mining facilities up and running and had concerns that local governments were shutting them down without due process. 

“By that time, local government had already let them in and so Act 851 would provide those same protections for bad actors,” he said.

As of the 2023 session, there’s also a new law in Arkansas that prohibits foreign party-controlled businesses from owning agricultural land in the state.  

As for crypto mining sites, Attorney General Tim Griffin has been investigating for months now, but so far there are no confirmed properties under this foreign leadership.

Bryant said the changes to the law following the study would likely come in 2025 through some amendments.