Utah Passes Bold Crypto Bill: Will Other States Follow Its Lead?

Utahs House committee votes 8-1 to advance HB 230, allowing state investment in crypto and digital assets.
The bill lets the state treasurer invest up to 5% of funds in cryptocurrencies or approved stablecoins with market caps over $500B.
Utah joins 12 states exploring crypto investments, with neighboring Arizona and Wyoming also considering similar legislation.

The House committee in Utah has made a major move towards the use of public cryptocurrency funds in the state. On January 28th the Utah House Economic Development Committee voted 8 to 1 in favor of HB 230, commonly referred to as the Blockchain and Digital Innovation Amendments. The bill will now be taken to the full house for the next level of the decision making process.

Crypto Investment Proposal

Proposed by Jordan Teuscher on 21 January, this bill would allow the state treasurer to invest up to 5% of some state funds in qualifying digital assets. These are cryptocurrencies with a market capitalization of above $500billion or approved stablecoins. Some of the changes made on the bill on January 28 include zoning restrictions for crypto mining operations.

If the full House and Senate pass the bill, it will go to Gov. Spencer Cox for his signature. This is not the first time that Governor Cox has backed the concept of digital innovation because he agreed to sign a bill in the year 2022 to establish the Blockchain and Digital Innovation Task Force in Utah.

Utah Joins Growing Trend

There are particular provisions for handling of digital assets in the proposed legislation. It requires that the cryptocurrencies are stored in secure wallets, with the help of qualified custodians, or traded in exchange traded products.

The bill also legalizes the state treasurer to participate in staking and lending of digital assets subject to certain conditions. Also, it bars state and local governments from banning the use of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment for acquiring permissible products and services.

Utah is one of the twelve states that have filed similar bills to permit state funds to be invested in cryptocurrencies. Similar measures are being considered by neighboring states of Arizona and Wyoming as well. Satoshi Action Funds co-founder and CEO, Dennis Porter, took to social media to reveal that Utah is the second state to pass such a bill out of committee.

Source: Bitcoin Reserve Monitor

The bill is currently under consideration and if passed it will come into force on May 7. At the same time, the South Dakota Representative Logan Manhart said that he will submit a bill to establish a state Bitcoin reserve.

This development is important for understanding Utahs increasing focus on digital assets and its aim to become a hub for blockchain and cryptocurrency innovation. The fate of the bill will be observed as the bill is passing through the legislative process.

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Text source: TronWeekly

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