A total of 18 states in the U.S. are considering creating strategic %Bitcoin (CRYPTO: $BTC) reserves.
If the proposed legislation is adopted and the states proceed with the %Crypto reserves, it could lead to the buying of an additional $23 billion U.S. worth of Bitcoin, say analysts at investment management firm %VanEck.
Legislators in states that include Massachusetts, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, North Carolina and Florida have introduced bills proposing to establish government reserves that invest in Bitcoin and possibly other crypto.
However, it remains unclear how many of the bills will be passed. More than 20 bills have previously been proposed at the state level and three of them, in Pennsylvania, Wyoming and North Dakota, have failed, according to VanEck.
However, state interest in a strategic %BitcoinReserve has risen since Donald Trump was re-elected U.S. president and mused about creating a BTC reserve at the federal level in America.
Most of the state-level bills have been introduced by Republican lawmakers, with some also proposing to allow their state pension funds to invest in Bitcoin.
A few U.S. states, such as Wisconsin and Michigan, already allow their pension funds to invest in cryptocurrencies.
Proposed funding sources for the state Bitcoin reserves include general funds, gifts, and criminal forfeitures.
If enacted, the states could each invest billions of dollars in Bitcoin, based on VanEck’s calculations.
Matthew Sigel, head of digital-assets research at VanEck, said the estimate of $23 billion U.S. of Bitcoin buying is a “conservative” estimate.
Bitcoin is currently trading at $96,650 U.S., having gained 87% over the last 12 months.
