Florida Joins States Rejecting Bitcoin Reserve Bills
2min read Florida has joined a growing list of states that have rejected or abandoned efforts to establish strategic Bitcoin reserves. Two bills, HB 487 and SB 550, which aimed to allocate up to 10% of select public funds to Bitcoin, were officially pulled as the state’s legislative session closed on May 3. Both bills were “indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration,” ending Florida’s crypto reserve effort without a vote on either floor.
This failure places Florida alongside several other states that have recently rejected or abandoned similar efforts. These states include Arizona, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Montana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming. In some cases, such as Arizona, legislation cleared both chambers before being vetoed by the state’s governor. Governor Katie Hobbs blocked Arizona’s SB 1025, calling it an inappropriate risk for pension systems. “Retirement funds are not the place to experiment with untested assets,” she wrote at the time. The bill’s co-sponsor, Senator Wendy Rogers, condemned the decision and vowed to bring the bill back next session, stating, “Arizona needs Bitcoin.”
In Oklahoma, a strategic reserve bill passed one committee by a wide margin but was struck down in a 6–5 vote by the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee on April 29. South Dakota’s HB 1202 was rejected in February in a 9–3 vote, with lawmakers expressing concerns about Bitcoin’s volatility. Montana’s House Bill 429 was defeated in a 59–41 floor vote despite being framed as a diversification strategy. North Dakota’s HB 1184 met a similar fate, falling short in February by 57–32. The legislative setback in Pennsylvania came without drama; the crypto investment bill introduced in late 2024 never advanced. Wyoming’s effort was also voted down in committee, with just one lawmaker supporting it. Even Utah, considered an early frontrunner, amended its own blockchain bill to strip out a key provision that would have allowed the state treasurer to invest in digital assets. The final version passed without it.
This shift in legislative support comes as a surprise, given that more than 45 Bitcoin reserve bills had been introduced in over two dozen states just weeks ago. As of early May, only 36 remain active in 19 states. Texas and New Hampshire remain the most viable contenders, with both states’ legislatures advancing their Bitcoin reserve proposals. With legislative calendars closing, many of the remaining proposals are now racing against the clock. Others, like Rogers’, are preparing for round two.
The rejection of these bills highlights a thinning legislative support for Bitcoin reserve initiatives. Most proposals have stalled before reaching a floor vote, indicating a cautious approach by lawmakers towards integrating cryptocurrencies into state treasuries. The concerns raised by governors and legislators, particularly regarding the volatility and untested nature of Bitcoin, have played a significant role in these rejections. Despite these setbacks, some states continue to push forward, suggesting that the debate over Bitcoin reserves is far from over.
