Florida Proposes Bill to Invest in Digital Assets

According to Cointelegraph, a revised bill has been introduced in the Florida House to permit the state to invest in digital assets, including Bitcoin and crypto ETFs. This follows the withdrawal of an earlier proposal by the operations subcommittee in June. The new legislation, known as Florida House Bill 183, was presented by lawmaker Webster Barnaby. It aims to allow the state and certain public entities to allocate up to 10% of their funds into digital assets such as Bitcoin, crypto exchange-traded products, crypto securities, non-fungible tokens, and other blockchain-based products. This bill builds upon Barnaby's previous attempt, HB 487, which was dismissed in June. The updated proposal introduces new standards for custody, documentation, and fiduciary responsibilities related to holding and lending digital assets. Additionally, it broadens the scope of investible digital assets beyond Bitcoin, offering Florida more flexibility in diversifying its digital asset portfolio if the bill is enacted. HB 183 is set to take effect on July 1, 2026, and would authorize the State Board of Administration to invest pension and other trust funds in digital assets. During the 2025 legislative session, numerous Bitcoin and digital asset reserve bills were proposed across various state legislatures, but only three were successfully enacted into law. These include bills from Arizona, New Hampshire, and Texas. New Hampshire's HB 302 permits the treasurer to invest up to 5% of public funds in digital assets with market caps exceeding $500 billion, currently limited to Bitcoin. Texas Senate Bill 21 establishes a Bitcoin-only reserve, while Arizona's HB 2749 allows for the creation of a digital asset reserve from unclaimed property. In addition to HB 183, Barnaby has introduced another bill, HB 175, aimed at easing regulatory requirements for stablecoin issuers in Florida. This bill seeks to clarify that recognized payment stablecoin issuers should not be required to obtain separate licenses or registrations. It mandates that stablecoin issuers be fully collateralized with US dollars or treasuries and conduct a public audit of their reserves at least once a month. Like HB 183, the stablecoin bill is also intended to take effect on July 1, 2026. In related news, California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed a law to protect unclaimed crypto from being automatically sold. The California SB 822 ensures that digital assets are preserved in their original form rather than being converted to cash before being transferred to state custody. This law allows crypto account holders to recover their original assets by filing a valid claim with the California State Controller.