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Florida lawmakers have introduced legislation that would authorize the state’s chief financial officer to invest up to 10% of public funds—potentially billions of dollars—into Bitcoin and Bitcoin ETFs, reviving efforts that stalled just five months ago.
House Bill 183, filed for the state’s 2026 legislative session, would allow investments from major funds including the General Revenue Fund and Budget Stabilization Fund, positioning Florida among the most crypto-aggressive states in the nation.
The proposal includes strict custody requirements and would allow residents to pay taxes in digital assets, marking a dramatic shift in how states approach cryptocurrency integration.
Central to the Florida crypto reserve strategy are detailed custody and compliance measures designed to prevent mismanagement of state-held digital assets. The proposal mandates that all crypto holdings be managed directly by the CFO through qualified custodians, ensuring alignment with federal standards and institutional best practices.
“States are seeking to modernize their balance sheets,” Julian Fahrer, Founder, Bitcoin Laws.
In addition to Bitcoin, the bill broadens the definition of digital assets to include tokenized securities and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). It also proposes a framework allowing Floridians to pay certain taxes and fees in digital assets, which would then be converted to U.S. dollars before being deposited into the state’s general revenue fund.
These guardrails, lawmakers argue, are critical to ensuring transparency and minimizing risk as the Florida crypto reserve strategy gains momentum within state finance circles.
The move comes just months after Florida abandoned earlier efforts in May 2025 to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve. That decision had placed the state among a growing list of jurisdictions, including Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Montana, and Oklahoma, that failed to pass legislation supporting Bitcoin-based public investment strategies.
Now, the Florida crypto reserve strategy appears to be a course correction, reflecting shifting sentiment among policymakers who view Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation and a tool for portfolio diversification.
Former Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis has long been a vocal advocate for such measures. In 2024, he described Bitcoin as “digital gold” that could help diversify the state’s pension and treasury holdings. The current proposal builds upon that vision, incorporating lessons from previous attempts while aligning with more recent state-level frameworks.
The Florida crypto reserve strategy mirrors similar legislative frameworks enacted in Arizona, New Hampshire, and Texas, according to data from tracking platform Bitcoin Laws. Several other states are also expected to revisit digital asset investment proposals in early 2026.
If approved, House Bill 183 could make Florida one of the first U.S. states to formally integrate Bitcoin into its treasury management system — a potential model for others exploring fiscal innovation through blockchain-based assets.
However, the bill must still pass through committee hearings in the Florida House, gain Senate approval, and secure the governor’s signature before becoming law.
Should it succeed, the Florida crypto reserve strategy could reshape how U.S. state governments perceive digital assets not as speculative tools, but as strategic components of modern public finance.
