The Montana Bitcoin reserve bill has been voted down in the House of Representatives. The bill, known as the Inflation Protection Act, was proposed by the House Business and Labor Committee but was voted down on its second reading.
If passed, the bill would have allowed the state to invest funds from various sources in assets like gold, silver, and Bitcoin. Republican Representative Curtis Schomer introduced the bill in the House on February 7 without support from the Democrats.
Montana Bitcoin reserve bill sees nonpartisan rejection
The final vote was devoid of party affiliations, with 16 Republicans voting against it, while a Democrat voted in favor of the bill. The final voting ended at 51 against and 41 for the bill. The bill, which was two pages long, would have granted authority to move funds from the state general purse into the Inflation Protection Act special fund as directed by the legislation.
The bill also has a maximum pegged $50 million, taking from the revenue of the state account and giving control to the legislature over the funds in the account. The bill also required that the asset chosen must have a market cap of at least $750 billion, putting Bitcoin as the only eligible asset. The argument came down to the wire, with proponents arguing that it is a good way to optimize resources and opponents said it was investments in speculative assets.
According to a current act that is revising crypto rules in Montana, prohibiting the state from developing a CBDC and allowing payments of tax in crypto. It also protects staking and mining and removes done tokens under the State securities law. The law protecting mining, which was passed in 2023, prohibits discriminatory utility rates for miners. It also prohibits taxing crypto used for payments and sees the assets as private property.
According to Bitcoinlaws.com, 18 states currently have cryptocurrency reserve fund proposals. Utah is the furthest ahead. Its Blockchain and Digital Innovation Amendments bill has made it through the House and is up for its second reading in the Senate. Montana joins North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Wyoming as states that have voted down cryptocurrency reserves. Montana’s four federal legislators are all strong supporters of crypto.