Utah, one of the states in the United States, has taken a significant step towards legalizing the Bitcoin Reserve Bill! Here are the details

With the referral of the 'Blockchain and Digital Innovation Changes' bill to the Senate permanent committee, Utah took a significant step towards allowing the state treasurer to invest public funds in Bitcoin.

Utah's Bitcoin Reserve Bill Advances to Senate Standing Committee

The bill, officially known as H.B. 230, passed the parliament last month with a vote of 8-1 and was referred to the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee on February 13 after its first reading in the Senate. If the bill is enacted, it will come into force on May 7, 2025.

Basic Provisions of H.B. 230

The bill, proposed by Utah Rep. Jordan Teuscher on Jan. 21, aims to:

• Utah gives the state treasurer the authority to allocate up to 5% of public funds for investment in "qualified digital assets".
• To define qualified digital assets as cryptocurrencies with an average market value exceeding 500 billion dollars or as a stablecoin.

Currently, the Bitcoin (BTC) has a market cap of $1.9 trillion, making it the primary eligible asset under the proposed criteria Ethereum (ETH), which has a market capitalization of $322 billion, would not comply with the current requirements of the bill.

Utah Bitcoin Reserves Can Lead the Country

Rep. Teuscher Twitter( )eski highlighted Utah's potential to become the first U.S. state to successfully pass such a bill, even though at least 11 states have passed similar laws.

“Although there are 11 states proposing a bill similar to Utah, we will be the first state to accept it.”

Other states, including Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Oklahoma, have recently proposed similar initiatives to establish Bitcoin reserves as part of state investment strategies.

Pressure on state-level Bitcoin investment strategies gained momentum, especially after the crypto-friendly attitude following the inauguration of US President Donald Trump in January.

The role of Bitcoin as a state investment tool is becoming an increasingly growing policy debate among US lawmakers.