New Mexico Senator Anthony Thornton has recently introduced Senate Bill 275 (SB 275), known as the “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act”. With this bill, New Mexico is set to join a growing roster of states seeking to establish Bitcoin Reserves for their respective treasury departments.
Under the new bill, Thornton proposes a 5% allocation of New Mexico’s public funds into Bitcoin. The funds for this venture will be drawn from various state resources, including the grant permanent fund, severance tax permanent fund, tobacco settlement permanent fund, and other state funds determined suitable by the state investment council.
This move by New Mexico echoes similar actions taken by other U.S. states. In November 2024, Pennsylvania proposed a bill to establish a Bitcoin reserve, making it one of the first states to consider such a measure. The Pennsylvania Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Act, if passed into law, would allow the state’s treasury to hold Bitcoin in its reserves. The proposed sequestration of 10% of its general fund, investment fund, and rainy day fund into Bitcoin would translate into a substantial investment, given that Pennsylvania’s Rainy Day Fund stands at a whopping $7 billion and the General Fund at over $9.7 billion.
Florida is also eyeing the Bitcoin reserve bandwagon, with the Florida Blockchain Business Association (FBBA) head, Samuel Armes, announcing in December 2024 that the state may establish its Bitcoin reserve by the first quarter of 2025. With the support of key state officials, like the Speaker of the Florida House Danny Perez, Senate President Ben Albritton, and Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida seems well-positioned to adopt a Bitcoin reserve. Armes has suggested leveraging Florida’s $185.7B pension fund by allocating a small percentage to Bitcoin to hedge against inflation.
Other states, including Texas, Ohio, and Alabama, are considering similar Bitcoin reserve proposals. In Texas, Senate Bill 778 proposes secluding a Bitcoin reserve from the state’s general revenue fund, allowing Texas to hold Bitcoin as an asset. In Ohio, State Representative Derek Merrin introduced a proposal to establish a state Bitcoin fund, and in Alabama, state auditor Andrew Sorrell suggested initiating a strategic Bitcoin reserve.
On a broader scale, North Dakota legislators and a New Hampshire state representative have introduced proposals to allow states to invest in Bitcoin. States like Massachusetts, Utah, Arizona, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, and Montana are also beginning to make strides towards establishing independent Bitcoin reserves.
All these state-level initiatives follow the federal government’s move to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the U.S. Treasury. The discussion at the federal level has gained momentum after the White House’s AI and crypto policy lead, David Sacks, confirmed that reviewing Bitcoin as a potential strategic reserve asset is a priority for the administration’s digital assets working group.
These collective efforts signal a growing interest in and acceptance of Bitcoin as a viable asset for states’ financial reserves, reflecting the digital currency’s increasing influence in public finance. As these proposals move through the legislative process, they have the potential to reshape the financial landscape of these states and, by extension, the entire nation.
