Lawmakers in the US state of Minnesota and Alabama have filed companion bills to identical existing bills that will allow each state to buy Bitcoin.
The Minnesota Bitcoin Act, or HF 2946, was introduced to the stateโs House by Republican Representative Bernie Perryman on April 1, following an identical bill introduced on March 17 by GOP state Senator Jeremy Miller.
Meanwhile, on the same day in Alabama, Republican Senator Will Barfoot introduced Senate Bill 283 while a bi-partisan group of Representatives led by Republican Mike Shaw filed the identical House Bill 482, which allows for the state to invest in crypto, but essentially limits it to Bitcoin (BTC).
Twin Alabama bills donโt explicitly name Bitcoin
Minnesotaโs Bitcoin Act would allow the stateโs investment board to invest state assets in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and permit state employees to add crypto to retirement accounts.
It would also exempt crypto gains from state income taxes and give residents the option to pay state taxes and fees with Bitcoin.
Source: Bitcoin Laws
The twin Alabama bills donโt explicitly name Bitcoin, but it would limit the stateโs crypto investment into assets that have a minimum market value of $750 billion โ a criterion that only Bitcoin currently meets.
26 Bitcoin reserve bills now introduced in the US
Introducing identical bills is not uncommon in the US and is typically done to speed up the legislative process so laws can pass more quickly.
Bills to create a Bitcoin reserve have been introduced in 26 US states, with Arizona currently the closest to passing a law to make one, according to data from the bill tracking website Bitcoin Laws.
Arizona currently leads in the US state Bitcoin reserve race. Source: Bitcoin Laws
Pennsylvania was one of the first US states to introduce a Bitcoin reserve bill in November 2024. However, the initiative was reportedly eventually rejected, with similar bills also killed in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
Related: North Carolina bills would add crypto to stateโs retirement systemย
Montana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Wyoming are the five states that rejected Bitcoin reserve initiatives. Source: Bitcoin Laws
According to a March 3 report by Barronโs, โred statesโ like Montana have likely faced setbacks to the Bitcoin reserve initiatives due to political confrontation of the Democratic Party with the Republican Party.
Additional reporting by Helen Partz.
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