Arkansas and its Oil and Gas Commission requested the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to lift a lower court injunction blocking enforcement of a state law restricting foreign entities from operating digital asset mining facilities. The 2024 law prohibits citizens or businesses from countries subject to U.S. State Department arms export controls from holding interests in Arkansas-based crypto mining equipment. A lower court previously halted enforcement, finding the state regulation may be preempted by federal authority. During Tuesday's oral arguments, Joseph Nelson of the Arkansas Attorney General's Office disputed this determination, arguing the law falls within the state's core police powers and targets nations already identified by the federal government as national security threats.