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【Arkansas asks the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to lift injunction against law restricting foreign crypto mining】

Arkansas and its Oil and Gas Commission on Tuesday asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit during oral arguments to overturn a lower-court order. The order barred enforcement of the state's law restricting foreign entities from holding interests in digital-asset mining operations. The lower court had previously found that the law might be preempted by federal law and therefore invalid. Joseph Nelson of the Arkansas Attorney General's Office disputed that finding. He said the law falls within the core scope of the state's police powers, and its restrictions target countries that the federal government has identified as threats to national security. The law was enacted in 2024 and 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.