New Mexico Senator Anthony Thornton files for a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act”

New Mexico Senator Anthony Thornton has filed Senate Bill 275 (SB 275) dubbed the “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act”. The bill makes New Mexico join other states that are also working to establish Bitcoin Reserves for their respective treasury departments.

New Mexico has introduced Senate Bill 275 (SB 275), also known as the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act. Senator Anthony Thornton introduced the bill proposing a 5% allocation of New Mexico’s public funds into Bitcoin.

New Mexico begins exploring Bitcoin through its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act

Another state making moves! 🚀 New Mexico joins the Bitcoin reserve race—who’s next?

— Giannis Andreou (@gandreou007) February 12, 2025

The 5% of funds will be drawn from various state funds, including the grant permanent fund, severance tax permanent fund, tobacco settlement permanent fund, and other state funds that the state investment council deems appropriate.

New Mexico has joined other U.S. states in the race to Bitcoin reserves. In November 2024, Pennsylvania proposed a bill centered around the creation and establishment of a Bitcoin reserve becoming among the first states to pursue BTC reserves.

The Pennsylvania Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Act would allow the state’s treasury to hold Bitcoin in its reserves once passed into law. The act proposed that the state seclude 10% of its general fund, investment fund, and rainy day fund into the digital asset. The state’s Rainy Day Fund totals $7 billion, and the General Fund holds over $9.7 billion making the proposed investment significant and substantial.

In December 2024, the head of the Florida Blockchain Business Association (FBBA), Samuel Armes, announced that Florida could join the Bitcoin reserve bandwagon by the first quarter of 2025. According to Armes, the Speaker of the Florida House Danny Perez, and Senate President Ben Albritton are supportive of Bitcoin, and with Governor Ron DeSantis also a proponent, Florida is well-positioned to adopt a Bitcoin reserve.

Armes proposed leveraging Florida’s $185.7B pension fund by allocating a small percentage to Bitcoin to hedge against inflation. Armes also explained that Florida had already invested in Bitcoin and other crypto assets through its pension fund.

Texas, Ohio, and Alabama are considering Bitcoin reserves

Texas also joined the race in December 2024 during its 89th legislative session, where the State introduced Senate Bill 778, proposing a Bitcoin reserve secluded from the state’s general revenue fund. The legislation would allow Texas to hold Bitcoin as an asset and appropriate funds for further BTC purchases. Residents would also be able to donate Bitcoin to the reserve.

Ohio and Alabama also joined the bandwagon with Bitcoin reserve proposals. In December 2024, Ohio State Representative Derek Merrin introduced a proposal dubbed the Ohio Bitcoin Reserve Act, which would establish a state Bitcoin fund. Alabama state auditor Andrew Sorrell suggested that the state initiate a strategic Bitcoin reserve.

On 10th January, North Dakota legislators and a New Hampshire state representative introduced proposals allowing individual states to invest in Bitcoin. New Hampshire state representative Keith Ammon’s proposal did not mention Bitcoin explicitly but set high market value requirements that only make BTC eligible for the state’s investments. North Dakota legislators’ proposal suggested the state seclude a portion of its funds to digital assets.

Massachusetts, Utah, and Arizona make their first strides toward Bitcoin Reserves

On Jan. 18, Massachusetts state senator Peter Durant and five Republican senators in Wyoming introduced bills calling for the creation of a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the two states. Massachusetts’ proposal suggested a 10% allocation to Bitcoin from its rainy-day fund, while Wyoming proposed allocating only 3% of the public funds to BTC.

Other states like Utah, Arizona, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, and Montana also made their first strides toward establishing independent Bitcoin reserves. Iowa has introduced a new Bitcoin reserve bill, HF 246, which would permit the investment of up to 5% of public funds in digital assets with a market cap of $750 billion or more.

The U.S. states follow the federal government’s move to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the U.S. Treasury. The discussion has gained momentum at the federal level after the White House’s AI and crypto policy lead, David Sacks, confirmed that reviewing Bitcoin as a potential strategic reserve asset is a priority for the administration’s digital assets working group.

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