When Bitcoin Met Sovereignty: A Love Story 🌹💰

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West Virginia’s Bitcoin (BTC) strategic reserve bill is the state’s way of saying “I do” to freedom from the federal government and a potential central bank digital currency (CBDC), State Senator Chris Rose told CryptoMoon in an exclusive interview. 💍🚫

“Rumors have it that the feds want a CBDC,” Rose said. “But people want decentralized currency. They want freedom. They want to be like Bitcoin, the cool kid on the block.” 😎

The bill, introduced in February, seeks to allow the state treasury to invest up to 10% of public funds in precious metals like gold and silver, stablecoins, or any digital asset that has had a $750 million market capitalization or higher over the last 12 months. Currently, the only digital asset with such a market cap is Bitcoin. 🥇

Rose, the bill’s sponsor, said that the reason they decided on the market cap requirement was to avoid getting trapped “in any things like memecoins.” 🙅‍♂️

Adopting Bitcoin on the state level would “give us a little more state sovereignty,” Rose added. “And I think that’s one reason why you see a lot of people who normally buy [Bitcoin] for themselves want to see their state government do the same.” 🏴‍☠️

A 10% allocation of state funds would be a “good way to introduce [Bitcoin] to the state” while avoiding any fear from people who don’t understand digital assets. “It’s a good way to cap that where they feel comfortable, but also give us at least a decent exposure as well.” 😱💰

Bitcoin: “a very powerful” investment and freedom tool

Rose said that one of the roadblocks to getting the bill passed is fear, in particular among those who don’t understand cryptocurrency. “Just like any other state, we have people who understand it. We also have people that don’t understand it, and people are always afraid of what they don’t know.” 😱

He added that “once they understand it, they realize it’s a very powerful investment tool and freedom tool for every one of us to adopt.” 💡

West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey, who has envisioned a future state economy powered by crypto and other tech, won’t be a roadblock, Rose said. And the state treasurer, whom Rose consulted before introducing the bill, won’t either. 🚧

However, according to WVNews, a West Virginia publication, some lawmakers and financial experts remain skeptical. Investing state funds into Bitcoin may be risky due to the asset’s volatility and price swings, which can cause financial instability and make Bitcoin a controversial choice for state investments. 🤔💸

Although Bitcoin strategic reserve bills have been popping up in state legislatures around the United States, some bills have failed to pass or have scrapped key provisions, including some of those in traditionally conservative states. 📉

Currently, 47 strategic Bitcoin reserve bills have been introduced in 26 states according to Bitcoin Laws. While, in most of the states, the bills have only been introduced or referred to committees, some have made headway in three: Arizona, Oklahoma, and Texas. 🗺️

Rose clarified that the 10% of state funds allocated to precious metals, stablecoins, or Bitcoin would be sourced from two key areas. 📊

“It would be the assets under the pensions fund and under the severance tax fund,” Rose said. “They would be able to divest some of those ETF funds into these assets. We wanted to keep it separate from the petty cash fund, which is day-to-day, just paying the bills of the state. We wanted to keep it to our longer-term assets,” he added. 💵

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2025-04-02 23:32