Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.
Michigan has gotten one step closer to adopting Bitcoin as a reserve asset.
House Bill 4087 finally made progress last week after stalling for seven months. Lawmakers moved the bill to a second reading and referred it to the Government Operations committee.
The bill, introduced by Republican state Reps. Bryan Posthumus and Ron Robinson in February, would permit the state treasurer to allocate up to 10% of the state’s general fund and countercyclical budget and economic stabilization fund in Bitcoin and possibly other cryptocurrencies.
Don’t Miss:
According to the bill, the state treasurer may also lend these assets to increase yield, provided doing so does not increase financial risk to the state.
After last week’s progress, the bill has completed 25% of the roadmap to becoming law, according to open access legislative database LegiScan. Bitcoin Laws, a platform tracking Bitcoin-related legislation across the U.S., estimates that the bill still has five hurdles to cross before becoming law, including two committee readings and votes in the state House and Senate.
If lawmakers pass the bill, it will go to the desk of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who has yet to express an opinion on the bill.
Trending: The ECG Hasn’t Changed in 100 Years — This AI Upgrade Could Help Detect Heart Disease Years Earlier
So far, Arizona, New Hampshire and Texas are the only U.S. states that have enacted Bitcoin reserve laws. Texas said in June that it had allocated $10 million to fund its reserve.
Beyond Michigan, Massachusetts and Ohio continue to consider strategic Bitcoin reserve bills, though neither has advanced since early this year. Similar legislation has failed to pass in 35 other states, according to Bitcoin Laws.
While Michigan state lawmakers are still considering HB 4087, the state’s pension fund, The Michigan Office of Retirement Services, is expanding its exposure to Bitcoin. The fund reported a $10 million position in Ark Invest‘s ARK 21Shares Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (CBOE: ARKB) in Q2. The filing showed the organization grew its share holdings in the ETF by 200% within the quarter.
See Also: Have $100k+ to invest? Charlie Munger says that’s the toughest milestone — don’t stall now. Get matched with a fiduciary advisor and keep building
The statewide push to adopt Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies aligns with President Donald Trump‘s cryptocurrency agenda. Trump in March issued an executive order establishing a Bitcoin strategic reserve from seized assets following through on a promise made on the campaign trail. The order also directed the secretaries of Commerce and the Treasury to pursue “budget-neutral” strategies to add to the reserve.