North Dakota
North Dakota Senate passes bill to regulate crypto ATMs
A North Dakota bill that places various safeguards on cryptocurrency ATMs, including a daily transaction cap and mandatory fraud warnings, has passed the Senate.
On March 18, House Bill 1447 cleared the Senate in a 45-to-1 vote, bringing it a step closer to becoming law. The bill, introduced in January, is designed to curb scams and tighten oversight of crypto ATM operators.
If signed into law, the bill would require ATM operators to be licensed as money transmitters and enforce a $2,000 daily transaction limit across their machines. It also mandates fraud warning notices at kiosks and quarterly reports on ATM locations, transaction data, and operator details.
As previously reported by crypto.news, the bill originally proposed a $1,000 daily cap, but lawmakers later adjusted the limit to $2,000 for the first five transactions within 30 days. Now, the Senate has simplified it to a straight $2,000 cap per day.
Additionally, operators must use blockchain analytics to flag suspicious activity and report potential fraud to authorities.
The bill now heads back to the House for approval of these changes before landing on Governor Kelly Armstrong’s desk.
As crypto ATM scams become more popular, the bill aims to introduce much-needed safeguards to protect residents from financial losses.
During a Jan. 22 hearing, Lisa Kruse, North Dakota’s financial institutions commissioner, noted that locals had filed 103 crypto scam complaints with the FBI in 2023, with reported losses hitting $6.5 million.
Meanwhile, House Representative Steve Swiontek, who sponsored the bill, argued that the lack of regulation made crypto ATMs an easy target for crypto scammers.
Crypto ATMs are widely available across the US, with nearly 30,000 machines in operation. However, increasing fraud cases have pushed regulators to introduce new laws aimed at cracking down on misuse.
Last week, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen signed a similar bill into law, tightening rules for crypto ATM operators. The Controllable Electronic Record Fraud Prevention Act, part of Legislative Bill 609, introduced new licensing and reporting requirements to curb fraud.
HORACE — The city of Horace is having a problem with what people are flushing down their toilets.
And it’s creating a big-time mess for crews to clean up.
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DICKINSON — The end of January marks a critical time for teams across Southwest North Dakota. Wins are starting to become premium value, and standings are starting to take shape across all sports.
South Heart @ Hettinger-Scranton — Boys Basketball — Friday, Jan. 30
The Eagles are in the middle of the pack in the District 7 standings, sitting at fifth in the conference with a 1-1 record. South Heart is coming into Friday’s contest winning its last two outings, earning its first District 7 win over New England, 69-49, and then a tight non-conference win over Trenton, 67-58.
The game against New England was a back-and-forth first half, but the Eagles took control in the final 16 minutes, outscoring the Tigers 44-24. Garett Bargmann put up 29 points, which led all players on the floor.
The Nighthawks are heading into Friday’s game dropping their last two games, with the most recent being a close 59-56 loss to Divide County. Hettinger-Scranton led at half time, 25-23, but couldn’t pull away with a win. Gavin Parnow and Aidyn Fisher had strong performances in the game, with 19 and 18 points respectively.
Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. MST at Scranton High School.
Trinity @ Killdeer — Girls Basketball — Friday, Jan. 30
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
The Titans and Cowboys have played some really close games in the past. But the first meeting between the two clubs was a
lopsided affair that saw the Titans escape with a 55-36
win at the Knights of Columbus Activities Center.
Now the scene will shift to Killdeer in the final contest of the season-set. The Titans have been in some extremely tight games recently and have come out on both sides of the table. Trinity narrowly defeated Shiloh Christian, 46-44, to improve to 6-2 in Region 4 play and 8-6 overall.
The Cowboys are still searching for some consistency. Killdeer is riding a two-game losing skid and has losses in four out of its last five games.
Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. MST at Killdeer High School.
Devils Lake @ Dickinson High — Girls Hockey — Saturday, Jan. 31
Jacob Cheris / The Dickinson Press
The last time these two teams met, the Mavericks won in a 2-1 overtime decision. Saturday’s contest is the back half of a back-to-back home weekend, where DHS will take on Grand Forks on Friday.
Saturday’s game is the best chance DHS has to get in the win column. The Firebirds are currently sitting in last place in the conference and don’t have a win this season. They’ve also struggled to put the puck in the back of the net, scoring just 10 goals through 13 games.
Dickinson (4-10, 1-10-2) was in a tight first period with Bismarck Century last Friday, but things once started to turn sideways in the second period, when the Patriots scored two goals on 19 shots and held DHS to three.
Puck drop is slated for 1 p.m. MST at the West River Ice Center.
Jacob Cheris covers a variety of high school and college sports. A graduate of Penn State University’s class of 2023, with a degree in broadcast journalism, he covered Penn State Men’s Hockey for three years. Jacob also covers Big Ten Hockey for College Hockey News.
North Dakota Supreme Court Justices, from left, Douglas Bahr, Daniel Crothers, Jon Jensen, Lisa Fair McEvers and Jerod Tufte hear arguments Dec. 18, 2023, in a case involving Summit Carbon Solutions and landowners. (Photo by Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor)
BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – A committee has forwarded six candidates to Gov. Kelly Armstrong to be the next justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court.
The court seeks a replacement for Justice Daniel Crothers, who announced late last year his plans to retire in February after 20 years on the bench.
The six contenders are:
- Philip Axt, a Bismarck resident and solicitor general for the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office
- Mark Friese, a Fargo defense attorney
- Michael Hurly, a judge for Northeast Judicial District in Rugby
- Ryan Norrell, a Bismarck attorney who served as counsel to former Gov. Doug Burgum
- Jacob Rodenbiker, an assistant U.S. attorney who lives in Fargo
- Kirsten Sjue, a judge for the Northwest Judicial District in Williston
Armstrong, a Republican, can appoint someone from the pool of six, ask the committee for more nominees or refer the matter to the election ballot for a public vote.
The committee could have forwarded up to seven names. A total of 12 candidates applied.
The voting members of the nominating committee are Justice Jerod Tufte, Eric Lahlum, Taylor Olson, Laura Mihalick, Paul Forster and Garth Rydland.
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