In a remarkable move, a bill to create a Bitcoin strategic reserve has just been presented in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. This legislative effort comes after statements by U.S. Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and her allies in the U.S. crypto community expressed hope for the passage of a national Bitcoin reserve bill during the first hundred days of Donald Trump’s presidency.
The proposed legislation authorizes the Pennsylvania State Treasurer to invest 10 percent of about $7 billion from the State General Fund, Emergency Expenditure Fund, and State Investment Fund into Bitcoin, digital assets, and crypto exchange products. This massive allocation reflects the increasingly mainstream acceptance of cryptocurrencies as a hedge against some of the economic uncertainties.
A group of lawmakers sponsoring the proposed legislation said that “in the last four years, inflation has depleted the purchasing power of the people of Pennsylvania by over20 percent”. They argue, in effect, that a Bitcoin reserve fund would grant the state greater flexibility in financial matters and form a partial bulwark against inflation.
This initiative is a very well-correlated one with the broader trends of the cryptocurrency space. Legal experts from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) also stated that Donald Trump’s potential re-election as U.S. President could usher in some “friendlier” terms for crypto firms working in the nation.
The Pennsylvania bill, therefore, speaks to a significant turn towards the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies in state approaches to finance. If it is approved, it could set the tone for other states to follow, potentially redefining the management of and investment by public funds in America.
