South Carolina Aligns With Federal Push to Protect Digital Asset Rights
Columbia, Wednesday, 27 May 2026.
South Carolina enacted the Freedom Financial Act on the exact same day as a sweeping federal executive order, signaling a massive nationwide shift to protect digital asset ownership.
State-Level Protections and Bipartisan Support
In May 2026, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster signed the Freedom Financial Act, officially known as S163, into law [1]. The legislation received overwhelming bipartisan support, passing the state Senate with a vote of 38-1—representing an approval rate of approximately 97.436 percent—and the state House by a margin of 110-1 [1]. The bill establishes a comprehensive regulatory framework designed to protect digital asset owners, explicitly safeguarding self-custody rights and prohibiting discriminatory taxation on digital assets [1].
Federal Momentum and the ARMA Legislation
The enactment of South Carolina’s S163 coincided with a major executive order signed by President Donald Trump [alert! ‘The provided source text contains conflicting dates, citing both May 19 and May 25 as the exact signing date for both the state bill and the federal executive order’] [1]. This federal directive mandates that regulatory bodies reduce barriers to innovation across the fintech, digital asset, and blockchain sectors [1]. Building upon a previous executive order issued by President Trump in 2025, legislative action is now accelerating in the United States House of Representatives [2].
Strategic Accumulation Without Budgetary Impact
Unlike prior legislative proposals that mandated the outright purchase of 1 million Bitcoin—an acquisition valued at approximately $77.5 billion—the ARMA bill outlines a strategy to accumulate digital assets without directly impacting the federal budget [2]. The Departments of Treasury and Commerce would be authorized to utilize alternative mechanisms for acquisition, including the conversion of existing assets, the revaluation of gold certificates, legal confiscations, and the allocation of customs receipts [2].