Allowing law enforcement to seize digital Cryptocurrency accounts that are part of criminal investigations is the focus of one of the pieces of legislation South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley will ask lawmakers to pass during the state’s 2026 legislative session. Jackley said cryptocurrenc y has become a haven for scammers, drug traffickers, and human traffickers, costing South Dakotans millions in losses and fueling online crime. He said his proposed legislation adds ‘digital currency’ to the state’s seizure laws, giving law enforcement the tools to confiscate illicit crypto assets and disrupt criminal networks hiding behind digital secrecy. Jackley said based on the FBI’s 2024 Internet Crimes Complaint Center (IC3) report, there was $13.8 million in cryptocurrency related losses reported to IC3 in South Dakota in 2024. He said the losses were the result of crimes such as romance scams, extortion, government impersonation scams and investment scams. People over 60 years old accounted for $7.8 million in reported losses for 2024. The legislative session starts Tuesday (Jan. 13, 2026). Once filed, the Attorney General’s bills can be found here, https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bills/71. ...read more read less