Alabama Seeks to Establish Bitcoin Reserve Using 10% of State’s Funds
April 2, 2025
Alabama lawmakers have introduced a bill that requires the State Treasurer to invest up to 10% of the state’s funds in Bitcoin. The bill, dubbed House Bill 482, provides a comprehensive framework that requires the State Treasurer to invest up to 10% of Alabama’s funds in Bitcoin. Although the bill did not explicitly mention Bitcoin, it only permits investments in digital assets with an average market cap of $750 billion over the past 12 months. Currently, only Bitcoin meets this requirement. The premier asset has maintained a market cap of over $1 trillion within this timeframe.
Custody Requirements
Notably, the bill mandates the state’s treasurer to store the digital assets using a secure custody solution, which prevents smartphone access, utilizes encrypted channels, and grants the government exclusive control. It also requires that the custody solution support multi-party governance, transaction logging, and regular security audits. Alternatively, the bill proposes that the assets be held through a qualified custodian. In addition, the bill permits the State Treasurer to loan the digital assets to generate more returns. However, this will only be permitted so long as the loaning of assets does not increase the overall financial risks.
Potential Date of Implementation
Once the state senate approves the bill, it will become effective on October 1, 2025, exactly six months from now. The scheduled date is expected to give the state’s financial authorities substantial time to prepare for the potential digital asset investments. Meanwhile, the new bill was introduced in the Alabama State House of Representatives during the 2025 regular session. A bipartisan group of lawmakers from the Republican and Democratic Parties backed the bill, including Alabama State Representatives Mike Shaw, Parker Moore, Chip Brown, and Margie Wilcox. It has already been assigned to the Budget and Finance Committee for review before the full House vote.
In the meantime, several U.S. states have been considering investing a portion of their funds in Bitcoin. States like Texas and New Hampshire have already progressed with their Bitcoin reserve bills. As reported earlier, the Texas Senate passed the bill last month, which requires the state to invest a portion of its funds in Bitcoin. The bill is currently awaiting gubernatorial approval.
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