Florida tries Bitcoin again: How $218B pension bill makes BTC a state asset this time
Florida is again with one other try to put Bitcoin on the state’s stability sheet. The new bill, HB 183, revives final yr’s failed effort however with sharper enamel and broader attain.
It as soon as once more units a ceiling of 10% of sure state funds that may very well be allotted to digital belongings, together with Bitcoin and controlled ETFs. But the place the 2025 bill was principally an aspirational gesture, this one reads like a working blueprint.
It spells out how custody would work, who will get to make the calls, and even what occurs if the state loses management of its personal keys.
The bill runs lengthy and detailed, and for good cause: HB 183 is supposed to indicate that Florida can really maintain crypto in a manner that passes audit.
It defines digital belongings to incorporate Bitcoin, tokenized securities, and different cryptographically recorded devices underneath Florida’s digital report legal guidelines. It additionally opens the door to exchange-traded merchandise that maintain digital belongings alongside shares or commodities.
That growth means the state isn’t solely speaking about stacking Bitcoin. It’s positioning itself to personal publicity by SEC-registered ETFs and even tokenized securities, so long as they meet custody and disclosure requirements.
The bill designates the Chief Financial Officer because the central actor. The CFO may allocate as much as 10% of every state fund account, from General Revenue to belief and company funds, into authorized crypto or ETF devices.
The similar ceiling applies to the pension system, the place the State Board of Administration may make investments as much as 10% of the Florida Retirement System Trust Fund. Those limits mirror final yr’s bill however make clear that the cap applies per account, to not all funds collectively, successfully widening the potential pool.
None of it’s obligatory, as these are ceilings, not quotas, however the authorized authorization is sweeping sufficient to matter.
Custody and management guidelines have been tightened. Any digital asset the state buys should stay underneath steady management, both held instantly by the CFO or by a certified custodian that may legally excellent a safety curiosity. If that management lapses, the state has 5 enterprise days to repair it.
Lending is allowed however provided that the loans are absolutely collateralized, with the CFO free to require overcollateralization by rule. These are the form of operational guardrails designed to reply the query that killed the primary bill: how do you safe a public treasury’s personal keys?
HB 183 even accounts for taxes or charges acquired in crypto, requiring them to be swept into General Revenue and reimbursed in {dollars}, a small however telling signal that drafters are interested by accounting friction as a lot as ideology.
The scale and the stakes
The numbers behind the ten% determine make the bill greater than symbolic. The Florida Retirement System holds about $218 billion.
A 1% allocation there would equal roughly $2.2 billion, already greater than most day by day spot Bitcoin ETF flows.
A 5% allocation would strategy $11 billion, and that’s earlier than counting different state funds just like the $4.9 billion Budget Stabilization Fund, which may theoretically add a whole bunch of thousands and thousands extra.
None of those strikes would occur in a single day, however even a cautious 1% pilot would introduce a new supply of regular demand into a market that now depends closely on ETFs for inflows.
The authorized and political obstacles stay steep. The bill exempts crypto holdings from a few of the state’s public-deposit safety guidelines, however that doesn’t resolve the bigger subject of volatility and fiduciary threat. Public funds are constructed on liquidity and predictability; Bitcoin is neither.
The five-day treatment clause for custody lapses might look tidy on paper, but it surely’s untested in public-sector observe. Auditors will need proof that Florida can doc and worth these holdings as rigorously as its Treasuries or equities.
There’s additionally the query of timing: even when the bill passes, every funding board nonetheless must amend its personal coverage statements earlier than touching crypto.
HB 183, in brief, isn’t a declaration that Florida will purchase Bitcoin, however that Florida needs to make it legally doable to take action. It broadens the scope from one asset to a complete class, builds in management mechanisms, and units the stage for cautious participation slightly than speculative bets.
The 10% quantity grabs consideration, however the true story lies within the state’s try to put in writing down a authorized playbook for sovereign crypto custody.
If that framework survives scrutiny and beneficial properties traction, it may change into the primary mannequin of its type within the US: a quiet however profound shift in how governments take into consideration holding digital belongings, one statute at a time.
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