Utah has officially dropped out of the Bitcoin reserve race after last-minute amendments to a proposed blockchain bill scrapped its Bitcoin investment plans.
On March 7, Utah’s House Bill 230, dubbed the Blockchain and Digital Innovation Amendments bill, was approved with a 19-7-3 vote, but lawmakers removed the Bitcoin reserve clause in the final reading, stripping the bill of its most ambitious provision.
HB 230 was first introduced on January 21 by Utah Representative Jordan Teuscher.
The first iteration of the bill proposed allowing the state treasurer to allocate up to 5% of certain public funds, like the General Fund Budget and State Disaster Recovery accounts, into “qualifying digital assets,” including Bitcoin, high-cap cryptocurrencies, and stablecoins.
However, during the third and final reading in the Senate, lawmakers removed the Bitcoin reserve clause and Utah’s House, which had originally approved the bill with the reserve provision, later concurred with the Senate’s amendment in a 52-19-4 vote, sealing the decision.
According to Senator Kirk A. Cullimore, one of the bill’s sponsors, concerns over the early adoption of such policies played a role in stripping out the Bitcoin investment plan.
The bill now moves to Governor Spencer Cox for approval.
The current state of HB 230
With that amendment, HB 230 now focuses solely on digital asset protections and blockchain-friendly regulations while dropping any direct state involvement in crypto investments.
It protects the right to mine Bitcoin, run a node, and participate in staking, ensuring that residents can engage in blockchain activities without restrictive regulations.
Additionally, the bill prohibits state and local governments from restricting digital asset payments for legal goods and services.
Among other measures, It also affirms the right for individuals to custody their assets using self-hosted or hardware wallets without interference.
Texas and Arizona reserve bills in focus
As of March 10, Texas and Arizona are currently the closest in terms of legislative proceedings to establishing a state-backed Bitcoin reserve per data from Bitcoin Laws.
Both of Arizona’s Bitcoin reserve bills have already cleared committee stages and are now awaiting final floor votes, while Texas’ proposal has moved forward to the House.
Several other states have been pushing forward with their respective crypto reserve bills. North Carolina, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and most recently, New Hampshire..
As previously reported at Invezz, New Hampshire’s House Bill 302 got strong bipartisan support, passing the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee with a 16-1 vote. Since the committee has 11 Republicans and 7 Democrats, this shows solid backing from both sides.
Next, the bill will go to the full House for a vote. If it passes, it’ll go through another committee review before heading to the Senate for final approval.
Utah now joins five other states, including Montana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Wyoming, that have rejected proposals for a crypto reserve.
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