After modifying a Bitcoin measure to eliminate a provision that would have permitted the state treasurer to make Bitcoin investments, Utah lawmakers passed the bill.
Although Utah’s Bitcoin bill has passed the state Senate, it lacks a crucial provision that would have allowed the state to become the first in the US to establish its own Bitcoin reserve.
Only rudimentary custody safeguards and the ability to mine Bitcoin are now granted to Utah residents under the HB230 “Blockchain and Digital Innovation Amendments” bill.
Among other things, manage a node, stake, and use BTC $82,542.
The bill is now on its way to Utah Governor Spencer Cox’s desk to become law after a 19-7-3 vote on March 7 passed it.
Bitcoin is currently the sole digital asset that satisfies the reserve clause, which would have allowed Utah’s treasurer to invest up to 5% of digital assets with a market cap above $500 billion over the previous calendar year in five state accounts.
In the third and final reading, the reserve clause was removed, despite passing the second reading. The amendment was then approved by the Utah House by a vote of 52-19-4.
Senator Kirk A. Cullimore, one of the bill’s supporters, stated during Utah’s floor session on March 7 that “there was a lot of concern with those provisions and the early adoption of these types of policies.”
“The bill no longer includes any of that.”
Utah Senator Kirk A. Cullimore confirmed HB230’s amendment to scrap the reserve clause. Source: Utah State Legislature
Prior to March 7, Dennis Porter, the CEO of the Satoshi Action Fund, had stated on February 2 that Utah will likely become the first state in the United States to approve a Bitcoin reserve.
According to statistics from Bitcoin Laws, two legislation from Arizona and one from Texas are currently the ones that are most likely to become law. All of the proposals have passed their respective Senate committees and are currently pending a Senate floor vote.
Proposal to create a state-level Bitcoin reserve in the United States. Bitcoin Laws is the source.
25 of the 31 state measures that were submitted to establish a Bitcoin reserve are still in effect. These bills include those from Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, and Oklahoma.
North Dakota, Montana, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania have all had unsuccessful bills.
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It coincides with the March 7 executive order that US President Donald Trump signed creating a government Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
The Treasury and Commerce secretaries have been directed to create budget-neutral plans to purchase additional Bitcoin, while the Bitcoin reserve will be seeded with Bitcoin acquired through forfeitures in criminal cases.
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