- Utah’s House Economic Development Committee has passed HB 230 with strong support, proposing to allow up to 5% of public funds to be allocated to qualifying digital assets.
- Arizona leads alongside Utah in the Bitcoin reserve initiative, while eleven other states have introduced similar bills and three more are considering legislation.
- Additionally, Senator Lummis notes encouraging progress at the federal level, connecting it to Trump’s executive order regarding a sovereign wealth fund.
Things are moving fast in the US, with more states adding crypto in general and often Bitcoin specifically to their agenda.
One of the latest additions to the Bitcoin reserve race is Utah and there’s reason to believe they may move much faster than others. According to Satoshi Action Fund CEO Dennis Porter, Utah and Arizona are currently in the lead for a Bitcoin reserve.
Only Assets with $500 Billion Market Cap Considered
Utah’s lead is due to political momentum building in the mountain state and a shorter window than in other states to get legislation passed.
Related: Analyst Says US Bitcoin ETFs on Track to See Over $50 Billion Inflows in 2025
During an interview with Senator Cynthia Lummis, Porter said that state legislators have 45 days to decide.
It’s either sink or swim in 45 days. No one else has a faster calendar, and no one else has more political momentum and willpower to get it done.
Dennis PorterIn late January, the Utah House Economic Development Committee passed HB 230, with eight votes for and only one against. The bill would, if approved by the full House, allow the treasurer of Utah to allocate up to 5% of public funds to “qualifying digital assets”, which sounds a little vague at first.
However, the bill stipulates that a qualifying asset must have US$500 billion (AU$799 billion) in market cap.
A quick look at CoinMarketCap reveals that this is currently only the case for Bitcoin, as even Ethereum falls below that threshold.
Growing List of States Looking to Add Crypto to Coffers
Looking south, the state’s neighbour, Arizona, has also advanced its strategic Bitcoin reserve bill, which will now be debated in the Senate Rules Committee.
Other states that have introduced similar bills are Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Indiana, Ohio, Wyoming and Texas.
Alabama, Florida and Kentucky are at the stage of considering whether they’ll introduce a specific bill. Kentucky Representative TJ Roberts already vowed to introduce a bill once lawmakers return to General Assembly.
Related: Coinbase and Marathon to Testify at Congressional Probe into ‘Operation Chokepoint 2.0’
Senator Lummis said in the interview that progress for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is also being made on the federal level.
We’re having good success. We’re not there yet, but we’re having good success.
Senator Cynthia LummisThis follows her comments that Trump’s executive order about a sovereign wealth fund was a “₿ig deal”.
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