Florida Files New Bitcoin Reserve Bill With Expanded Asset Options
Florida Republican lawmaker Webster Barnaby filed House Bill 183 on Wednesday to allow state investment in digital assets. According to Cointelegraph, the proposal permits Florida and certain public entities to invest up to 10% of their funds in Bitcoin, crypto exchange-traded products, and other blockchain-based assets. The bill seeks to take effect on July 1, 2026.
HB 183 represents Barnaby's second attempt at establishing a state crypto reserve. Florida's operations subcommittee withdrew his initial proposal, HB 487, in June after it failed to gain sufficient support. The new version expands the scope beyond Bitcoin-only investments to include a broader range of digital assets. This change gives Florida greater flexibility to diversify its holdings if the legislation passes.
The revised bill adds custody requirements, documentation standards, and fiduciary protmarks for holding and lending digital assets. The State Board of Administration would receive authority to invest pension and trust funds in cryptocurrencies. Barnaby also filed HB 175 this week to ease regulatory requirements for recognized stablecoin issuers in Florida.
State-Level Crypto Adoption Faces Resistance
The Florida proposal emerges as most state-level crypto reserve bills continue to fail. CCN reports that at least 28 U.S. states introduced Bitcoin reserve proposals during the 2025 legislative session. Only three states successfully passed their bills: New Hampshire, Arizona, and Texas.
We previously reported that 15 states began pursuing Bitcoin reserve legislation in early 2025 following President Trump's executive order on strategic crypto stockpiles. Pennsylvania led the initiative by introducing the first state-level bill in November 2024. However, most proposals remained stalled in committees or failed to secure necessary votes.
New Hampshire's HB 302 limits investment to digital assets with market capitalizations above $500 billion, currently only Bitcoin. Arizona's HB 2749 takes a more cautious approach by funding reserves exclusively from unclaimed property rather than public funds. Texas Senate Bill 21 establishes a Bitcoin-only reserve with active funding. The contrasting approaches reflect ongoing debate about how states should balance innovation with fiscal responsibility.
Shifting Political Landscape For Crypto Policy
Florida's renewed effort reflects changing government attitudes toward digital asset adoption. Crypto Briefing notes that Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed SB 21 into law in June 2025, making Texas the third state to establish a Bitcoin reserve. The Texas law requires assets to maintain a $500 billion average market cap over 12 months before purchase.
President Trump's March 2025 executive order establishing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve shifted federal policy on digital assets. The order directed Treasury to hold forfeited Bitcoin as strategic assets rather than selling them at auction. This policy change created momentum for state-level proposals, though critics question the wisdom of investing taxpayer funds in volatile assets.
California took a different approach by protecting unclaimed crypto from automatic sale. Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 822 in October, allowing crypto holders to recover their original digital assets from state custody. The law preserves assets in their original form instead of converting them to cash. These divergent strategies demonstrate that states are exploring multiple paths for digital asset integration without consensus on best practices.
