Florida takes strategic Bitcoin reserve bills off the table

Two Florida crypto bills have been removed from the legislative process in the latest blow to American state-level strategic Bitcoin reserve ambitions. 

Florida’s House Bill 487 and Senate Bill 550 have been “indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration” on May 3, according to the Florida Senate. 

Florida’s legislative session adjourned on May 2 without the passage of these two bills, which would have advanced legislation to establish a crypto reserve for the state. The Senate and House agreed to extend the session until June 6 to address budget plans. 

Lawmakers passed about 230 bills during the session, dealing with things like prohibiting putting fluoride in the water, protecting state parks, and a school smartphone ban, but diversifying state treasury portfolios was not among them. 

HB 487, which was introduced in February, would have allowed Florida’s chief financial officer and the State Board of Administration to invest up to 10% of certain state funds into Bitcoin (BTC).

SB 550 was also filed in February to enable investments of public funds in Bitcoin.

Related: Alabama, Minnesota lawmakers join US states pushing for Bitcoin reserves

Florida has now dropped out of the race to pass state-level crypto investment legislation, along with Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Montana and Oklahoma, which have all seen Bitcoin bills fail to pass House or Senate votes, according to Bitcoin Laws. 

It came just days after Arizona advanced its strategic Bitcoin reserve legislation further than any other state, until House Bill 1025 was vetoed by Governor Katie Hobbs, who labelled digital assets “untested investments” on May 3.

The Digital Assets Strategic Reserve bill would have permitted Arizona to invest seized funds into Bitcoin and create a reserve managed by state officials. 

The move drew the ire of crypto advocates and Bitcoiners, including entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano, who said: “Imagine the ignorance of a politician to believe they can make investment decisions.”

“Arizona has two more chances to be the first in the nation to establish a Bitcoin reserve,” said Satoshi Action Fund founder Dennis Porter on May 5, citing an article from Fox’s Eleanor Terrett. 

He added that the most likely to pass is HB 2749, which offers a budget-neutral method to fund the reserve using profit from the unclaimed property fund.

There is also a related bill, SB 1373, which would authorize the state treasurer to allocate up to 10% of Arizona state funds into digital assets. It has yet to reach a final vote.

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