Utah joins Arizona following a vote approving the bill proposing the creation of a strategic Bitcoin reserve, with the draft legislation awaiting the governor’s approval.
Key Highlights
- Utah replicates Arizona in approving the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve bill, which now requires governor approval to become enforceable law.
- Utah plans to allocate 10% of the state funds towards BTC reserves, joining nearly a dozen other states with similar pursuits.
- Representative Jordan Teuscher is behind the bill previously involved in the HB230 proposal to facilitate digital asset investments.
Utah is among the US states taking decisive action towards establishing the strategic Bitcoin reserve (SBR) following the approval of the bill at the committee phase. It mirrors the milestone realized by Arizona to facilitate the inclusion of Bitcoin in the state’s strategic reserves.
Utah Secure Approval for Bitcoin Reserve
The bill’s approval marks a potential shift in how the Utah government approaches digital asset management. Representative Jordan Teuscher proposed this bill at a time when Arizona set a precedent for states harbouring similar measures. The latter has passed the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act (SB1025).
Satoshi Act Fund executive Dennis Porter hailed Utah’s achievement in his X update to highlight the momentum towards Bitcoin adoption at the state level. This development emerges second to Arizona state passing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act (SB1025).
The proposed legislation mandates 10% of Utah state funds to be allocated towards Bitcoin reserves. The approval subjects the bill to the state legislature and the governor’s assent to the law. The draft legislation has garnered the super-majority vote.
Rep. Teuscher had previously proposed the HB230, aiming to facilitate digital assets investment in Utah. The lawmaker is leading the legislative effort with his earlier work, which laid a solid foundation for the state to pursue crypto investments. Such portrays a consistent push towards crypto-asset adoption.
It is worth mentioning that the dive into Bitcoin investments is gaining traction beyond Utah’s territory. At present, 11 other states are actively pursuing legislation seeking the addition of Bitcoin to their reserves. The majority proposes allocations capped at 10% of their funds.
South Dakota Bitcoin Reserve Initiative
The state of South Dakota is actively undertaking this legislative trend. Representative Logan Manhart rallied support for the legislative initiative, profiling it as an opportunity for proactive involvement within the digital asset ecosystem.
The current version of Utah’s proposal is the inclusion of specific provisions for managing and overseeing Bitcoin holdings. However, the exact details of security measures and implementation await the final phase.
The bill’s progression in Utah’s legislative system has witnessed little opposition. This suggests progress towards substantial BTC adoption at the state level, with lawmakers supporting the initiative to signal growing acceptance as a legitimate asset. The technology and local businesses within Utah are supporting the BTC reserve program as the catalyst to scaled blockchain and crypto activity.
With the Utah bill now in the final phase of approval, the draft legislation is a model to consider. Nonetheless, the process draws the attention of supporters and critics from the crypto community.
Part of the striking agenda in the discussion is support for a multi-token approach in the strategic reserves, particularly XRP. This has met criticism from some veteran experts, who indicated potential negative consequences would arise if the program expanded beyond BTC.
Swift Bitcoin Recovery
The legislative development coincides with Bitcoin staging a solid recovery with a 2.6% uptick in the past 24 hours to $104,607 per CoinGecko data. However, the crypto market has witnessed a mild 0.3% rally to hit $3.69 trillion with $142 billion in daily trading volume in the past 24 hours. This leaves Bitcoin dominance at 56.3% while Ethereum accounts for 10.4% per recent CoinGecko data.
The price fluctuation was witnessed following the news of China’s startup DeepSeek, which was disrupting the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. Despite the price pullback, institutional interest is progressive, with Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy sustaining strong interest by adding 10,107 BTC to its holdings.
Japan’s Metaplanent portrays a bullish outlook on Bitcoin by announcing plans for fundraising BTC purchases. Such indicates sustained institutional appetite as nations show interest in establishing strategic reserves.