Utah's Senate Passes Bitcoin Bill but Removes Key Provision

Utah lawmakers have passed a significant Bitcoin bill, but not without major revisions. The original proposal, which would have made Utah the first U.S. state to hold Bitcoin as part of its treasury reserves, was stripped of its key provision before final approval. 

The revised HB230 "Blockchain and Digital Innovation Amendments" bill now focuses on establishing digital asset rights for Utah residents, without the groundbreaking reserve element.

The bill cleared the Senate with a 19-7-3 vote on March 7, and is now headed to Governor Spencer Cox for final signature. While the reserve provision was removed, the bill still grants citizens key rights, including custody protections for holding digital assets securely, the right to mine Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies without undue restrictions, the ability to run blockchain nodes to support network operations, and participation in staking protocols to earn rewards from validating blockchain transactions.

Initially, the bill included a clause that would have allowed Utah’s treasurer to allocate up to 5% of funds in five state accounts to digital assets with a market cap exceeding $500 billion over the past calendar year — a threshold currently only met by Bitcoin. 

This would have established a state-backed Bitcoin reserve, a first in the United States.

The reserve clause passed the bill’s second reading but was ultimately removed in the third and final reading. The Utah House later concurred with the amendment, passing the revised bill with a 52-19-4 vote. Senator Kirk A. Cullimore, one of the bill’s sponsors, explained the decision, stating:

“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.”

Despite the rollback, the bill still represents progress in legitimizing blockchain activities at the state level, setting a precedent for future legislation.

Although Utah stepped back from establishing a Bitcoin reserve, other states are moving forward. 

According to Bitcoin Laws data, Arizona and Texas have Bitcoin reserve bills that passed Senate committees and await final floor votes. 25 out of 31 state-level Bitcoin reserve bills introduced across the country are still active, with states like Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, and Oklahoma considering similar legislation. 

Meanwhile, bills in Pennsylvania, Montana, Kentucky, and North Dakota have failed, highlighting the mixed sentiment surrounding state-level Bitcoin adoption.

While state-level efforts continue, the U.S. federal government has taken a bold step. On March 7, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, seeded with Bitcoin seized from criminal cases. 

The Treasury and Commerce secretaries have been tasked with developing budget-neutral strategies to accumulate additional Bitcoin for national reserves.

Utah’s Bitcoin bill shows that while interest in state-level crypto adoption is growing, lawmakers are still cautious about committing public funds to such a volatile asset. 

However, the bill's successful passage even without the reserve clause still marks progress in recognizing and protecting citizens' rights to participate in the decentralized economy. 

With momentum building across multiple states and the federal government stepping into the Bitcoin landscape, it's only a matter of time before more states revisit the idea of holding Bitcoin reserves  potentially reshaping the future of public finance in the digital age.