South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley plans to introduce legislation in the 2026 South Dakota Legislature that would allow law enforcement to seize digital cryptocurrency accounts that are part of criminal investigations. “Cryptocurrency has become a haven for scammers, drug traffickers, and human traffickers, costing South Dakotans millions in losses and fueling online crime,” said Attorney General Jackley. “This legislation adds ‘digital currency’ to South Dakota’s seizure laws, giving law enforcement the tools to confiscate illicit crypto assets and disrupt criminal networks hiding behind digital secrecy.”
Based on the FBI’s 2024 Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) report, in South Dakota there was $13.8 million in cryptocurrency related losses reported to IC3 in 2024 alone. The losses were the result of crime types such as romance scams, extortion, government impersonation scams, and investment scams. Victims older than 60 years old accounted for $7.8 million in reported losses for 2024.
This is the 10th bill that Attorney General Jackley will file in the legislative session which starts next Tuesday. The proposal would add digital currency to South Dakota’s seizure authority, enabling authorities to confiscate illicit crypto assets and disrupt criminal networks that rely on digital anonymity. According to Jackley, this is a necessary step to curb online crime driven by crypto assets.
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