Utah has upgraded its bitcoin reserve bill in the next phase of the law, with each other and third reading in the Senate pending before the final vote.
According to the latest update, the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee of Utah has passed the Blockchain and Digital Innovation Amendment Bill (House Bill 230), bringing the state closer to recognizing bitcoins as an official reserve asset.
MPs passed the bill 4-2-1 votesWhere all four votes came from Republican Senators. A Republican and a Democrat opposed the bill, while a senator was marked absent.
The bill will now have to undergo a second reading in the Senate, followed by further discussion and third reading for possible amendments. If it cleans both stages, the Governor Spencer Cox, a Republican will also proceed to the last Senate vote for approval.
On January 21, Utah Representative was introduced by Jordan Tasher, HB230 hovering with 8–1 votes through the House Economic Development Committee.
The Bill allowed the treasurer of the state to allocate up to 5% of some public funds, such as general fund budget and state disaster recovery accounts, in “qualification to digital assets”, including bitcoin, high-cap cryptocurrency and stabecrims. The bill also allows the treasurer to engage in crypto stacking.
Meanwhile, the fund can only be conducted through a qualified guardian or exchange-traded funds.
Currently, according to data from the 20 US state Bitcoin Reserve Monitor, Cryptocurrency is considering keeping as reserved assets. So far, three states, ie Vyoming, North Dakota and Pennsylvania, are the only ones who have rejected similar proposals.
The Utah is leading the allegation among the American states, which has made the most progress in the matter of advancing the law. According to Dennis Porter, founder of Satoshi Act Fund, Utah first stands out as the most potential candidate to pass a strategic bitcoin reserve bill.
Despite being one of the subsequent states to introduce such laws, Porter believes that the well-organized legislative process, which operates on a tight 45-day calendar, gives a clear advantage .
“No one else has a sharp calendar, and no one else has more political speed and will to complete it,” Porter said during a recent interview.
Montana progressed Utah a day after upgrading her own bitcoin reserve bill, which approved the House Business and Labor Committee with 12-8 votes.
