- A bill introduced into Florida’s House proposes allowing the state’s chief financial officer to invest up to 10% of certain specified state funds into digital assets such as Bitcoin.
- It would also see the Florida State Board of Administration empowered to invest up to 10% of the state’s pension fund into digital assets.
- Florida’s move follows similar proposals from many other US states to establish digital asset reserves; so far only Arizona, Texas and New Hampshire have enacted reserves.
Lawmakers in the US state of Florida have introduced a bill to the state’s House, which if passed, would allow public money to be invested in Bitcoin and other digital assets, including through exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Filed as House Bill 183 (HB183) and sponsored by Republican Representative Webster Barnaby, the bill proposes allowing Florida’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to invest up to 10% of specified state funds into digital assets. That would include investing money from the state’s General Revenue Fund and Budget Stabilization Fund.
The bill also proposes allowing the State Board of Administration to invest up to 10% of the Florida Retirement System’s System Trust Fund into digital assets.
The proposal argues that Bitcoin and other digital assets could benefit the state’s finances by acting as “stores of value and potential hedges against inflation.” It also references the executive order issued earlier this year by US President Donald Trump establishing a federal Bitcoin strategic reserve and plainly states that Florida is following Trump’s lead.
This state seeks to align its policy with these national directives by creating a secure, transparent framework to lawfully acquire, hold, and manage Bitcoin and other digital assets as part of its broader fiscal strategy.
Florida House Bill 183 (HB183)
Digital assets are defined fairly broadly in the bill. It includes Bitcoin, tokenised securities, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), crypto-based ETFs and “any other cryptographically secured or tokenized representation of value or rights recorded on a blockchain or similar distributed ledger technology.”
The proposed legislation includes strict custody requirements and specifies that digital assets can be held by the CFO directly, indirectly through qualified custodians such as regulated financial institutions, or through ETFs.
Additionally, the bill proposes that Floridian tax-payers be allowed to pay some of their taxes in digital assets. These digital assets would not be held by the state; they would instead be converted into US dollars.
If passed by Floridian lawmakers and signed off by the state’s Governor, the bill would come into effect July 1, 2026.
Related: Michigan Moves Forward with Strategic Crypto Reserve Bill
US States Continue to Pursue Bitcoin Reserves
Florida’s new bill follows similar legislation designed to establish digital asset reserves in many other US states. Many of these attempts stalled in recent months as state legislators adjourned for the summer — however state digital asset reserves have been successfully established in Arizona, Texas and New Hampshire.
According to Bitcoin Laws, a website that tracks the progress of digital asset legislation, over 50 bills have been introduced to establish state digital asset reserves so far, and more are expected as institutional and governmental crypto adoption continues to grow.
Related: Sen. Lummis Says U.S. Bitcoin Reserve Could Launch ‘Anytime’ Amid Policy Push
Last week, high-profile champion of all things crypto, US Senator Cynthia Lummis, declared the US Federal government could be on the brink of beginning to allocate assets to its Bitcoin Strategic Reserve.
“Legislating is a slog, and we continue to work toward passage, but thanks to President Trump, the acquisition of funds for an SBR can start anytime,” Senator Lummis said.
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