In short
- Three states have handed legal guidelines enabling Bitcoin reserves so far.
- A number of efforts in different states have failed over issues about volatility and public fund security.
- Proposals are nonetheless pending in 17 extra states as crypto advocates push for wider adoption.
As random corporations snap up Bitcoin and Donald Trump hails the creation of a nationwide crypto stockpile, state legislatures throughout the U.S. are racing to introduce their very own Bitcoin reserve laws.
Laws has been accredited in three states, rejected in 5, and stays into consideration in 17, based on Bitcoin Reserve Monitor.
These the place laws remains to be pending embody Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and West Virginia.
What precisely constitutes a “Bitcoin reserve” varies from state to state. Whereas some measures purpose to actively buy Bitcoin on the open market, others give attention to allowing the retention of digital belongings seized by means of enforcement actions or forfeitures.
Most of the proposals theoretically permit for the holding of different crypto too. In apply, strict market capitalization thresholds imply Bitcoin is often the one digital asset that qualifies.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire turned the primary U.S. state to formally undertake a Bitcoin reserve regulation in early Could with the passage of HB 302. Signed by Governor Kelly Ayotte, the regulation permits the state to allocate as much as 5% of public funds into valuable metals and digital belongings.
Nevertheless, digital belongings should meet strict necessities of a median market capitalization of no less than $500 billion over the previous calendar yr. This leaves Bitcoin as the one viable choice.
The transfer sparked appreciable political debate, with the invoice scraping by means of the Home by a margin of simply 13 votes. Nonetheless, Ayotte declared it a win for state innovation and monetary foresight.
“New Hampshire is as soon as once more first within the nation!” she wrote on X after signing the invoice.
Underneath the regulation, New Hampshire can maintain these reserves immediately by means of safe custody options, through a certified custodian, or by means of regulated funding automobiles.
Arizona
Arizona’s try and embrace Bitcoin reserves has been marked by legislative back-and-forth and repeated pushback.
In Could 2025, Arizona handed HB 2749, which up to date the state’s unclaimed property legal guidelines to permit crypto belongings to be held of their authentic kind, fairly than being liquidated as beforehand required.
This opened a pathway for the state to keep up custody of seized or forfeited Bitcoin, successfully making a type of reserve by means of enforcement actions.
Nevertheless, efforts to increase on this have confronted vital hurdles. Two extra payments, SB 1025 and HB 2324, had been each vetoed by Governor Katie Hobbs.
SB 1025, which might have allowed state treasurers and retirement methods to allocate as much as 10% of state funds into digital belongings, was vetoed in Could.
“Arizonans’ retirement funds are usually not the place for the state to strive untested investments like digital foreign money,” Hobbs stated in a letter on her choice.
The second invoice, HB 2324, sought to create a “Bitcoin and Digital Belongings Reserve Fund” managed by the state treasurer and funded by means of crypto seized in legal investigations.
Hobbs vetoed the invoice, arguing it “disincentivizes native regulation enforcement from working with the state on digital asset forfeiture by eradicating seized belongings from native jurisdictions.”
Texas
Texas is maybe essentially the most aggressive adopter of Bitcoin reserve laws.
In June 2025, Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Invoice 21 and Home Invoice 4488 into regulation, establishing the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve with strong authorized protections guaranteeing the reserve can’t be simply dismantled by future legislatures.
Texas’ regulation permits Bitcoin and doubtlessly different digital belongings to enter the reserve by means of purchases, forks, airdrops, or donations.
Nevertheless, solely digital belongings with a market capitalization of no less than $500 billion over a 24-month interval are eligible, successfully limiting the reserve to only Bitcoin.
States Which Rejected Bitcoin Reserves
A number of states tried to observe comparable initiatives however in the end fell brief on account of political resistance and monetary issues.
In Montana, lawmakers thought-about Home Invoice 429, which might have allowed the state to allocate as much as $50 million into a mix of crypto, stablecoins, and valuable metals.
The invoice failed to realize sufficient help within the Home of Representatives and was killed earlier than reaching a full vote, becoming a member of earlier failed efforts in North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming.
South Dakota additionally noticed its effort falter. A proposal from State Consultant Logan Manhart would have allowed as much as 10% of state funds to be allotted to Bitcoin investments. Nevertheless, the Home Commerce and Power Committee voted to defer the invoice indefinitely, successfully killing it.
In Utah, a broader blockchain-related invoice did move in March, however lawmakers stripped out the provisions that may have licensed a Bitcoin reserve.
Lawmakers in these states cited issues over Bitcoin’s infamous worth fluctuations, potential authorized legal responsibility, and questions concerning the long-term viability of crypto as a reserve asset.
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