Montana's Bitcoin Reserve Bill Rejected by House Lawmakers

The Montana House voted 41-59 against a bill that could have seen the U.S. state establish a Bitcoin reserve fund.

On February 22, the Montana House voted against a bill that could have made Bitcoin a reserve asset for the state, with many lawmakers concerned that this would allow the state investment board to speculate too much with taxpayer money. Many Republicans voted against House Bill 429 with a vote tally of 41-59. The bill proposed creating a special revenue account to invest in precious metals, stable cryptocurrencies, and digital assets with a market capitalization of over $750 billion in the past calendar year — a criterion that only

currently meets.

"It's still taxpayer money; we are responsible for it, and we need to protect it," State Representative Steven Kelly stated during Montana's House session on February 22, adding that "these types of investments are too risky." Representative Bill Mercer also disliked the idea of giving the Montana Investment Board the authority to decide on investments in cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens.

"I'm not here to do that," he said, while another lawmaker added, "To me, this sounds like speculation." 92359369145

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