Florida Lawmaker Refiles Bill to Allow State Crypto Investments After Prior Attempt Failed

A Florida lawmaker is making a second attempt to let the state invest in digital assets such as Bitcoin and crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Republican Representative Webster Barnaby filed the new proposal, known as House Bill 183, after his previous bill was withdrawn earlier this ￰0￱ Florida’s Investment Scope HB 183, introduced Wednesday, would authorize the State Board of Administration and other public entities to invest up to 10% of their portfolios in digital ￰1￱ could include Bitcoin, crypto securities, exchange-traded products, NFTs, and other blockchain-based investments. Barnaby’s new version strengthens rules around custody, documentation, and fiduciary duties, ensuring secure management of any digital ￰2￱ lawmaker also broadened the scope of eligible assets beyond Bitcoin-only exposure, aiming to give Florida greater flexibility in diversifying its reserve ￰3￱ approved, the measure would take effect on July 1, ￰4￱ Reserve Bills Face National Challenges Despite the growing interest in crypto reserves, only three ￰5￱ — Arizona, New Hampshire, and Texas — have successfully passed similar ￰6￱ Hampshire’s HB 302 allows up to 5% of public funds to be invested in digital assets with a market cap above $500 billion, currently limited to Bitcoin.

Texas’ Senate Bill 21 established a Bitcoin-only reserve, while Arizona’s HB 2749 permits digital asset reserves only from unclaimed property. Barnaby’s Florida proposal would make it the first major state economy to pursue a diversified crypto investment ￰7￱ Bill Targets Stablecoin Regulation In a related move, Barnaby also filed HB 175 to simplify the regulatory landscape for stablecoin issuers operating in ￰8￱ bill specifies that stablecoin providers fully backed by ￰9￱ or Treasury securities should not require separate state ￰10￱ also mandates monthly audits to ensure reserves are fully collateralized and publicly ￰11￱ the crypto reserve bill, HB 175 is scheduled to take effect in July ￰12￱ Strengthens Crypto Property Rights Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation last week protecting unclaimed digital assets from being automatically converted to ￰13￱ Bill 822 ensures that unclaimed crypto holdings remain in their original form under state ￰14￱ law allows account holders to recover their assets by submitting valid claims with the California State Controller’s Office, further establishing digital property rights in the U.

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