Utah Senate approves Bitcoin bill without reserve clause

Utah lawmakers have passed a Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) bill, but a key provision allowing the state treasurer to invest in Bitcoin was removed before final approval.  

The HB230 “Blockchain and Digital Innovation Amendments” bill was passed by the state Senate in a 19-7-3 vote on March 7 and is now awaiting Governor Spencer Cox’s signature.

While the bill protects Utah residents' rights to mine Bitcoin, run nodes, and participate in staking, it no longer includes a provision for a state Bitcoin reserve.  

The removed clause would have allowed the state treasurer to invest up to 5% of digital assets with a market cap exceeding $500 billion over the last calendar year.

As Bitcoin is the only asset meeting this threshold, it would have been the sole investment under this framework.  

“There was a lot of concern with those provisions and the early adoption of these types of policies. All of that has been stripped out of the bill,” confirmed Senator Kirk A. Cullimore.

The House concurred with the Senate’s amendment in a 52-19-4 vote.

Before the revision, Utah was positioned to become the first U.S. state to hold a Bitcoin reserve, according to Dennis Porter, CEO of the Satoshi Action Fund.  

With Utah’s Bitcoin reserve provision removed, attention now shifts to similar proposals in Arizona and Texas. Data from Bitcoin Laws indicates that two Arizona Bitcoin reserve bills and a Texas bill have advanced past Senate committees and await a final vote.  

Of the 31 Bitcoin reserve bills introduced across U.S. states, 25 remain active, with pending legislation in Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, and several other states. Meanwhile, bills in Pennsylvania, Montana, and North Dakota have failed.  

At the federal level, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 7 establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve using seized digital assets, marking a shift in U.S. digital asset policy.

At the time of reporting, the Bitcoin price was $81,781.95.