Florida Ditches Bold Bitcoin Bet, Joins Growing List of Crypto Cold Feet States

Sunshine State Shelves Ambitious Plans to Invest Public Funds in Crypto

Florida's dream of diving headfirst into the wild world of Bitcoin just got a reality check. The state has ditched plans for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, leaving two key bills that would've let public funds ride the crypto rollercoaster in the dust.

The Florida Senate gave both of Florida's Bitcoin reserve bills, House Bill 487 and Senate Bill 550, the cold shoulder on May 3, calling them "indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration." Ouch.

The state's legislative session slammed the door shut on May 2 without even giving either bill a vote, killing the proposal dead despite its early swagger.

HB 487, dubbed "Investments of Public Funds in Bitcoin," strutted onto the scene in February and even passed its first committee hearing with a unanimous vote on April 10. Talk about a hot start!

The bill would've let Florida's Chief Financial Officer and the State Board of Administration throw up to 10% of key public funds, like the General Revenue Fund and Budget Stabilization Fund, into the Bitcoin frenzy.

It also had plans for lending out BTC and using it in exchange-traded products, all while laying down some strict custody and compliance rules. No free-for-all here.

SB 550, a sidekick bill filed the same month, had the same crypto dreams and wanted to greenlight similar investments from Florida's state funds.

But with neither bill making it past the committee stages before the session slammed shut, Florida's shot at joining the Bitcoin-backed treasury club is now on ice.

Florida isn't alone in its crypto cold feet. Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Montana, and Oklahoma have all watched their Bitcoin reserve dreams go up in smoke in recent months.

Take Oklahoma's HB 1203, for example. It made it through multiple legislative hurdles but got shot down in committee after facing pushback from both sides of the aisle. Brutal.

These states are backing away despite the growing buzz around Bitcoin as a shield against inflation and a way to mix things up in state treasuries. Some lawmakers were all in, pitching it as a daring move to shake up public finance and cut ties with fiat currencies.

Arizona is still in the race, but it's not all smooth sailing. On April 28, its legislature passed SB 1025 and SB 1373 to set up a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. But Governor Katie Hobbs threw a wrench in the works days later, vetoing SB 1025 and calling digital assets "untested investments" while waving the budget concern flag.

Despite the setback, Arizona's still got two other bills in play, HB 2749 and SB 1373. HB 2749 wants to set up a budget-neutral reserve using unclaimed property profits, while SB 1373 would let up to 10% of state funds dive into the digital asset pool.