Oklahoma Bows Out of Bitcoin Reserve Race

Oklahoma has decided not to proceed with its plan to adopt Bitcoin in state treasuries. A bill that would have allowed the state to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve failed in the Senate, even after strong support in the House. Meanwhile, over twenty other states are still working on similar plans and pushing ahead with new bills. Senate Vote Ends Oklahoma’s Bitcoin Plan On April 15, the Oklahoma Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee voted 6-5 against House Bill 1203, also called the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act. With strong support, the bill had passed in the state’s House of Representatives: 77 votes for and only 15 against . One big moment before the vote was when Senator Christi Gillespie changed her mind. At first, she planned to vote no. But after hearing from people in her district, she voted yes. Even with her support, the bill still failed. The bill would have allowed the state treasurer to use public funds to buy Bitcoin and some stablecoins. However, based on the bill’s rules, only Bitcoin qualifies because it has a market value of over $500 billion. Right now, Bitcoin is worth around $1.6 trillion. With this decision, Oklahoma joined other states that ended or paused their Bitcoin reserve plans. These include Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania. More States Are Still In The Race While Oklahoma is out, 21 other states are still working on Bitcoin reserve plans. Some of them have more than one bill in progress. Across the country, there are 117 pro-Bitcoin bills under review. Out of these, 47 are focused on setting up Bitcoin reserves. States like Arizona, New Hampshire, and Texas are leading the way. They are moving faster to include Bitcoin in how they manage public money. Federal Government Enters the Conversation The idea of a Bitcoin reserve is not just happening in the states. The federal government is also thinking about it. Bo Hines, a top adviser on digital assets , said the government is looking at ways to fund a national Bitcoin reserve without adding to the national debt. Two discussed ideas are using money from tariffs or changing the value of old gold-backed certificates. These options would help build a U.S. Bitcoin reserve while keeping the budget in check. The post Oklahoma Bows Out of Bitcoin Reserve Race appeared first on TheCoinrise.com .

Source: The Coin Rise