- Utah is poised to become the first U.S. state to establish a Bitcoin reserve, driven by its short legislative calendar and strong political momentum, with a key House committee already approving the bill.
- If successful, this initiative could set a precedent for other states and influence federal efforts to incorporate Bitcoin into national financial strategies.
Utah is on the verge of making history as the first U.S. state to establish a Bitcoin reserve. This potential milestone comes as a result of the state’s uniquely short legislative calendar and strong political momentum supporting cryptocurrency adoption.
Dennis Porter, CEO of Satoshi Action Fund, expressed confidence in Utah’s ability to pass the bill in a recent interview with U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis. Porter noted that Utah’s legislative process is notably fast-paced, requiring a decision within just 45 days.
It’s either sink or swim in 45 days. No one else has a faster calendar, and no one else has more political momentum and willpower to get it done, Porter emphasized.
Momentum for the bill was evident when a Utah House committee voted 8-1 in favor of legislation that would permit the state to allocate a portion of its public funds into Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies with a market capitalization above $500 billion, and approved stablecoins.
Porter highlighted that every bill passed by the Utah House Economic Development Committee in recent years has ultimately become law, further increasing confidence in the bill’s success. “We firmly believe that Utah will be the very first state to introduce this legislation,” he stated.
While Utah is currently leading the charge, Arizona is the only other state to have progressed to a similar stage in the bill’s legislative process. Additionally, several other states—including Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wyoming—have introduced bills seeking to establish a Bitcoin reserve.
Meanwhile, state officials in Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, and South Dakota have publicly endorsed the idea but have yet to introduce formal legislation.
At the federal level, Senator Lummis has been actively working on a Bitcoin reserve bill, which aims to secure bipartisan support in the Senate. Her proposal seeks to accumulate 1 million Bitcoin, or 5% of Bitcoin’s total supply, over the next five years.
According to Lummis, the federal bill is making progress, though it still requires at least 60 votes to pass. “We’re having good success. We’re not there yet, but we’re having good success,” she said.
To achieve this goal, the U.S. could repurpose the 198,100 Bitcoin obtained from asset seizures and finance the remaining 801,900 Bitcoin through various means, including Emergency Support Functions and selling a portion of its $455 billion gold reserves.
A report by asset manager VanEck suggests that, if Bitcoin’s price appreciates at a compounded annual growth rate of 25% while the U.S. national debt grows at 5% annually, the country could reduce its national debt by 35% by 2049.
