U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's proposal to establish a national Bitcoin reserve is gaining support across the country, and several states are currently considering plans to implement their own cryptocurrency reserves. On Thursday (November 14), the Pennsylvania House of Representatives introduced a bill to implement a strategic Bitcoin reserve and include Bitcoin on its balance sheet. BNB1357
Fox News reporter Eleanor Terrett tweeted: “EXCLUSIVE NEWS, today (Thursday) the Pennsylvania House of Representatives introduced legislation that would allow the state to hold Bitcoin on its balance sheet as a reserve asset, in a move that would help further the broader movement to recognize Bitcoin as a store of value.”
Then, Fox Business reported that the prospect of Trump's return to the White House prompted Pennsylvania lawmakers to introduce legislation that would allow the state's treasury to hold the world's largest digital asset, Bitcoin, on its balance sheet. The legislation came as Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, who supports cryptocurrency, said she hopes to push her own Bitcoin Reserve bill across the country within the first 100 days of President Trump's term.
Optimism that Trump would deliver on his promise to make the United States the "global crypto capital" and Bitcoin a "permanent national asset" caused Bitcoin prices to surge 20% in the week after his victory, reaching an all-time high of more than $93,000 per coin and a market value of more than $1.8 trillion. This makes Bitcoin the world's seventh-largest asset after gold and five major U.S. technology giants, including Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Google.
The new bill, called the Pennsylvania Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Act, was introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Thursday and is the first of its kind. It would allow the state Treasury Department to allocate 10% of its approximately $7 billion in state funds to Bitcoin to help fight inflation and diversify its investments beyond traditional assets such as bonds and cash reserves.
“The (Pennsylvania Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Act) is a visionary step to secure our state’s financial future,” said Rep. Mike Cabell, R-Pa., the bill’s sponsor. “By adding Bitcoin to our reserves, we can not only protect Pennsylvania from the ongoing effects of inflation, but also position our state as a leader in financial resilience and innovation.”
The strategic reserve bill is the second cryptocurrency-related legislation to be introduced in the state legislature this year. Last month, the state House of Representatives passed a bill aimed at protecting residents' rights to keep digital assets and ensuring they can use Bitcoin as a payment method. The bill is scheduled to be submitted to the Republican-led Senate for consideration in the coming weeks and, if passed, will be sent to Governor Josh Shapiro for his signature.
Satoshi Action Fund, an advocacy group that helped Pennsylvania lawmakers draft a Bitcoin Bill of Rights, also supports the new strategic reserve bill. The group's main goal is to help Bitcoin go mainstream at the state level, and to date, it has successfully helped 21 states draft and pass Bitcoin-related legislation. Its founder, Dennis Porter, hopes that the strong bipartisan support for the October Bill of Rights will serve as a bellwether for how the strategic reserve bill will be received.
“The Bitcoin Rights Act sailed through the Democratic-led House of Representatives with a 176-26 majority,” Porter said. “With public support and interest in Bitcoin at an all-time high, we expect both bills to pass and hopefully be signed into law next year.”
Cabel agreed and said his goal is to have the bill on the House floor at the start of the next legislative session, which begins on Jan. 7, 2025.
Porter noted that the Strategic Reserve Act is expected to serve as a model for other states to integrate digital assets into investment portfolios, and said the SAF is currently in talks with 10 other states to implement similar legislation.
If the bill is passed into law, Pennsylvania would become the first state to directly hold Bitcoin on its balance sheet, marking the first step in the digital asset playing a larger role in the state government’s economic strategy.
“This legislation sends a clear message: Pennsylvania is ready to adopt bold, modern solutions to safeguard economic prosperity for generations to come,” Cabell said.
