Missouri Joins Bitcoin Reserve Push as U.S. States Race to Accumulate BTC
Missouri has become the latest U.S. state to join the push for a Bitcoin reserve. Its lawmakers introduced a bill to hold BTC through donations from residents and state funds.
Lawmakers Introduce Bitcoin Reserve Bill in Missouri
Missouri lawmakers have advanced a reserve bill to store BTC in its state-managed funds. Representative Ben Keathley had initially introduced a House Bill 2080 that would allow the state treasurer to invest, purchase, and hold the coin using state funds.
Thereafter, the Missouri Bitcoin reserve bill was referred to the House committee last week. Here, the new legislation would undergo a public hearing and a committee vote. The committee would also explore amendments in the bill before it is sent back to the House for debate and final approval.
This comes during a growing trend of U.S states looking to adopt digital assets as proceedings for the CLARITY Act progress. In the proposed bill, the state treasurer is allowed to receive gifts, grants, and donations in the form of BTC from Missouri residents or the government to contribute to the reserve.
Another aspect of the proposed bill is that it proposes allowing government entities to accept crypto approved by the Department of Revenue for citizens to pay taxes, fees, fines, or other expenses owed. Meanwhile, a date for the public hearing has not been fixed yet, but it has an automatic effective date of August 28.
Keathley had also introduced a similar Missouri Bitcoin reserve bill in February of last year. However, it did not go beyond the committee stage and was eventually shelved.
Which U.S. States Are Moving to Build a Bitcoin Reserve?
Missouri is one of the latest states to join the moving bandwagon in the U.S. Just last week, Arizona lawmakers advanced a bill to hold Bitcoin in its reserve. They approved using seized crypto assets to fund the reserve. The stockpile would also hold XRP. Also, the bill allows the state to loan digital assets in order to earn returns as Missouri joins the Bitcoin reserve trend.
Furthermore, in late January, South Dakota introduced its own bill to hold the token. Its proposed legislation has some similarities to with Missouri’s bill. Its lawmakers dedicated 10% of its state funds to purchase the coin.
Other states advancing their proposals include Kansas, Utah, and Pennsylvania. All these came after Texas became the first state in the U.S. to have a stockpile of BTC. They bought around $20 million worth of BTC last November to start their foray into digital assets.
