Good Evening ,
UTAH’S SENATE PASSES BITCOIN BILL — BUT SCRAPS KEY PROVISION
Utah lawmakers have passed a Bitcoin bill after amending it to remove a section that would have authorized the state treasurer to invest in Bitcoin.
Utah’s Bitcoin bill has passed the state Senate, but without its cornerstone, a clause that would have made it the first US state with its own Bitcoin reserve.
The HB230 “Blockchain and Digital Innovation Amendments” bill now only provides Utah citizens with basic custody protections, the right to mine Bitcoin, run a node and participate in staking, among other things.
The 19-7-3 vote to pass the measure on March 7 means the bill is now headed to Utah Governor Spencer Cox’s desk to be signed into law.
The reserve clause would have authorized Utah’s treasurer to invest up to 5% of digital assets with a market cap above $500 billion over the last calendar year in five state accounts — with Bitcoin as the only digital asset that currently meets this criteria.
The reserve clause passed the second reading but was scrapped in the third and final reading. Utah’s House then concurred with the amendment in a 52-19-4 vote.
“There was a lot of concern with those provisions and the early adoption of these types of policies,” one of the bill’s sponsors, Senator Kirk A. Cullimore, said in Utah’s March 7 floor session.
“All of that has been stripped out of the bill.”
Up until March 7, Utah looked likely to become the first US state to adopt a Bitcoin reserve, Satoshi Action Fund’s CEO Dennis Porter predicted on Feb. 2.
Two Arizona Bitcoin reserve bills and a Texas bill are now the closest to being passed into law, Bitcoin Laws data shows. Each of those bills obtained a successful vote in their respective Senate committees and is now awaiting a final floor vote in the Senate.
Of the 31 Bitcoin reserve state bills introduced, 25 remain live, including bills from Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio and Oklahoma.
Bills from the likes of Pennsylvania, Montana, Kentucky and North Dakota have failed.
@ Newshounds News™
Source: CoinTelegraph
~~~~~~~~~
EL SALVADOR CONTINUES ACCUMULATING BITCOIN AND NOW HOLDS 6,111 BTC DESPITE IMF PRESSURE
▪The Central American nation acquired an additional 6 BTC on Sunday, boosting its total holdings to 6,111.18 BTC.
▪The country agreed to scale back the public sector’s bitcoin activities in a deal with the IMF for a $1.4 billion loan.
El Salvador continues to acquire bitcoin despite its deal with the International Monetary Fund to curb its bitcoin acquisition.
The Central American nation purchased an additional 6 BTC on Sunday, expanding its total bitcoin holdings to 6,111.18 BTC, worth about $504 million at current market prices, compared to 6,072 BTC on Feb. 9, according to the country’s Bitcoin Office.
In December, El Salvador reached a deal with the IMF for a $1.4 billion loan, with the total package expected to be over $3.5 billion, and agreed to scale back its bitcoin engagement in exchange for the financing. Then, in January, the country’s Legislative Assembly approved a bill to comply with the IMF requirements set out in the deal, according to Reuters.
On March 3, the IMF released a new document outlining conditions as part of the extended arrangement for its fund facility to El Salvador.
“Going forward, program commitments will confine government engagement in Bitcoin-related economic activities, as well as government transactions in and purchases of Bitcoin,” said Nigel Clarke, deputy managing director of the IMF, in the document.
El Salvador’s strategic reserve, however, continued to accumulate bitcoin. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said last week that the country will not stop purchasing bitcoin. “No, it’s not stopping,” Bukele said in an X post on March 5. “If it didn’t stop when the world ostracized us and most ‘bitcoiners’ abandoned us, it won’t stop now, and it won’t stop in the future.”
@ Newshounds News™
Source: The Block
~~~~~~~~~
Seeds of Wisdom Team RV Currency Facts Youtube and Rumble
Newshound’s Podcast Link
Newshound’s News Telegram Room Link
Q & A Classroom Link
Follow the Roadmap
Follow the Timeline
Seeds of Wisdom Team™ Website
Subscribe to Seeds of Wisdom Team™ Newsletter
