Montana House rejects Bitcoin reserve bill amid risk concerns

Montana's House of Representatives voted against House Bill No. 429, a proposal to establish Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) as a state reserve asset, on February 22.

The vote, which concluded 41-59, revealed concerns among lawmakers that the bill would enable the state's investment board to engage in excessive speculation with taxpayer money.

House Bill No. 429 suggested creating a special revenue account for investments in precious metals, stablecoins, and digital assets with a market cap exceeding $750 billion, a criterion currently met only by Bitcoin.

“It’s still taxpayer money, and we’re responsible for it, and we need to protect it,” state Representative Steven Kelly stated, and considered "these types of investments are way too risky."

Representative Bill Mercer opposed granting Montana’s Board of Investments the discretion to invest in cryptocurrencies and NFTs, with another lawmaker remarking, “This smacks of speculation to me.”

Conversely, Representative Lee Demming advocated for maximising returns on taxpayer money, suggesting the bill could have facilitated this.

“The only thing that is risky is not passing this bill," bill sponsor Curtis Schomer argued, and also stated that Montana’s investment board would lose purchasing power by continuing to invest in bonds.

Montana Representative Steve Fitzpatrick noted the state’s investment board had “a lot of money sitting in the bank” that could be better utilised through investments in precious metals and digital assets.

The bill had previously passed Montana’s business and labor committee on February 19 with a 12-8 vote.

With the House's rejection, House Bill No. 429 is effectively dead, requiring reintroduction in the legislature for future consideration.

Currently, 24 states have introduced legislation to establish a Bitcoin reserve.

Utah's HB230 "Blockchain and Digital Innovation Amendments" has made progress, passing through the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee on February 20.

At the time of reporting, the Bitcoin (BTC) price was $95,700.56.