Which states are next after New Hampshire wins the encryption reserve competition?

Source: Blockworks; Compiled by Wuzhu, Golden Finance

New Hampshire has won the competition among the U.S. states that are considering legislation to allow investment in digital assets and/or to establish reserves.

How long do we expect other states to follow suit?

As of yesterday, a bill aimed at establishing a "Digital Asset Strategic Reserve Fund" managed by the state treasurer has been delivered to Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs' desk.

But Hobbs may veto this bill, as she vetoed another bill last week that allowed state public funds to invest up to 10% in "virtual currency assets." She referred to these as "unproven investments."

So, if it's not Arizona, who will it be next? According to the compiled documents, it could be North Carolina or Texas.

The Digital Asset Investment Act of North Carolina will authorize the state treasurer to invest 5% of any designated funds in "qualified digital assets." The bill passed its second reading in the House on April 30 with a vote of 71 in favor and 44 against, and has been submitted to the Senate for review.

The bill will also "review the feasibility of allowing members of state retirement income plans to make such investments (through cryptocurrency ETPs)" and study the establishment of a state reserve fund to hold seized or forfeited cryptocurrencies.

The proposed "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Investment Act" in Texas will establish a special fund to invest in cryptocurrency assets with a market value of $500 billion or more (currently limited to BTC only).

Ishmael Green, a partner at Diaz Reus law firm, stated that he expects about six states to follow New Hampshire's lead in the short to medium term—"because states are looking to hedge against inflation in addition to protecting their balance sheets."

In fact, the text of the bill in Texas is as follows:

"In the long run, such laws will lead to upward price pressure and supply shortages as states and other institutional entities rush to hoard more Bitcoin," Green told me.

What do the governors of North Carolina and Texas think about cryptocurrencies if these bills are ultimately passed? North Carolina Governor Josh Stein has not made many comments on this but has expressed support for the legislation.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott wrote in a November X post: "Texas is already the birthplace of cryptocurrency mining. During this conference, Texas should become the cryptocurrency capital."

David Lawant, the research director at FalconX, stated that he also expects several more states to enact such laws in the next 6 to 12 months.

But he is focusing on the framework of the Bitcoin Policy Research Institute (scheduled to be released in June), which is designed to help states formulate effective BTC reserve laws.

"A common issue with many current proposals is that their wording is not clear enough and their structure is not well thought out," Lawant told me.

It can be said that there are many similar things.