Utah lawmakers considered a bill in 2025 that would have allowed the state treasurer to invest part of certain public funds in digital assets. The proposal, known as the “Blockchain and Digital Innovation Amendments,” was introduced by Representative Jordan Teuscher.
The early version would have allowed up to 5% of certain state funds to be invested in qualifying digital assets. It also included rules for custody, staking, lending, and self-hosted wallets.
Teuscher said the measure was intended to prepare Utah for changes in financial technology. He stated on X that the bill was designed to support innovation while protecting public funds.
Thank you, @martypartymusic, for highlighting our efforts! Utah is proud to lead the way in blockchain and digital innovation. This bill reflects our commitment to embracing cutting-edge technology and preparing for the future of finance, while ensuring fiscal sovereignty.
— Jordan Teuscher (@jordanteuscher) January 21, 2025
The proposal went beyond Bitcoin
The investment provision was not limited to Bitcoin. Qualifying assets included cryptocurrencies that met a high market-cap threshold and certain stablecoins that satisfied regulatory and reserve requirements.
The bill also addressed how digital assets would be stored. Proposed rules required strong protection for private keys, while individuals would retain the ability to use self-hosted and hardware wallets.
That made the proposal wider than a simple state Bitcoin reserve. It covered how Utah could treat digital assets across public finance, private ownership, blockchain activity, and mining.
The debate also reflected a larger question for state governments: whether public money should be exposed to an asset class known for large price movements. Supporters saw a possible new financial tool, while the proposed limits were intended to reduce the amount of public money at risk.
Other states were considering similar measures. Texas Senator Charles Schwertner had introduced a bill for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, showing that state-level digital-asset legislation was becoming part of the wider U.S. policy debate.
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Utah’s final law took a different path
HB 230 passed the Utah Legislature in March 2025 and was signed by Governor Spencer Cox. But the final law no longer gives the state treasurer authority to invest public funds in digital assets.
Instead, the enacted law focuses on self-custody, accepting digital assets as payment, operating blockchain nodes, developing blockchain software, staking, certain money-transmission exemptions, and limits on local restrictions affecting digital-asset mining.
That means Utah did enact a major digital-asset law, but it did not create the state crypto investment framework described in the initial proposal. The investment provision was removed before the bill became law, while the remaining blockchain and digital-asset provisions took effect on May 7, 2025.
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