Odaily News Utah's Bitcoin bill has passed the state senate, but the core provision of the bill has been deleted. This provision would have made Utah the first state in the United States to have its own Bitcoin reserves. The bill, HB230 "Blockchain and Digital Innovation Amendment", now only provides basic custody protections to Utah citizens, giving them the right to mine Bitcoin, run nodes, and participate in staking. On March 7, the bill was passed with 19 votes in favor, 7 votes against, and 3 abstentions, and will next be sent to Utah Governor Spencer Cox to sign into law.
The reserve clause would have authorized the Utah Treasurer to invest digital assets with a market value of more than $500 billion (Bitcoin is the only digital asset that currently meets this standard) in five state accounts, with an investment cap of 5% of the asset's market value. The reserve clause was passed in the second reading, but was removed in the third and final reading. The Utah House of Representatives then agreed to the amendment with 52 votes in favor, 19 against, and 4 abstentions.