Montana Lawmakers Reject Bill to Create a BTC Reserve
Montana’s House of Representatives rejected a bill intended to establish Bitcoin as a state reserve asset. The vote, conducted on February 22, ended with a 41-59 decision, with significant opposition from Republican lawmakers.
House Bill No. 429 aimed to create a special revenue account for investments in precious metals, stablecoins, and digital assets with a market cap exceeding $750 billion over the past year, a criterion currently met only by Bitcoin.
State Representative Steven Kelly raised concerns about the potential risks involved in such investments, emphasizing the duty to safeguard taxpayer money.
He remarked, “It’s still taxpayer money, and we’re responsible for it, and we need to protect it.” Representative Bill Mercer also opposed the bill, expressing discomfort with giving the state’s Board of Investments authority to invest in cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens, which he described as speculative.
