If states start pouring portions of their public funds into bitcoin$BTC and other digital assets, it could lock up billions of dollars worth of tokens for extended periods, boosting the value of assets that are still publicly traded. Another effect is that the United States is likely to set up millions of people to have a vested interest in the health of the crypto sector — whether they want to or not$BTC
Sixteen U.S. states are actively considering legislation to invest public funds in digital assets, with three more likely to join them, as they consider a range of possibilities from bitcoin stocks to pension fund investments
Two other states have already dipped small portions of their retirement portfolios into crypto exchange-traded funds
Some of the timelines in state bills include buying bitcoin and other assets very soon — perhaps long before any national reserve kicks in.
Millions of Americans could soon discover they are crypto investors when their states intervene in the markets even before the federal government has figured out what to do.