West Virginia considers bill to add digital assets to its reserve fund and loan or stake them

West Virginia became the 23rd state to introduce legislation to create a “Bitcoin reserve fund.” If passed, the bill would allow the state treasurer to stake or loan the state’s digital asset holdings.

State senator Chris Rose introduced the Inflation Protection Act of 2025 on Feb. 14. It would allow the Board of Treasury Investments of West Virginia to invest up to 10% of public funds in its account to invest in precious metals, digital assets with a market cap exceeding $750 billion or stablecoins regulated in the United States. 

Only Bitcoin fits the fund’s requirements

Bitcoin is not mentioned in the bill, but it is currently the only digital asset that meets that criterion. If the proportion of digital assets or precious metals grows to exceed 10%, the board is not required to sell them, but no more investments in them are allowed until it falls below that mark.

Digital assets can be held in the custody of the treasurer or a third party, or may be in the form of an exchange-traded product.

Under the bill, the state’s treasurer can loan or stake its digital assets as long as it is “without increasing the financial risk of the state.” Bitcoin cannot be staked straightforwardly, as the cryptocurrency has a proof-of-work consensus mechanism. It can, however, be staked in wrapped form or held in a staking pool.

The bill has been referred to the state senate’s Committee on Banking and Insurance, and from there it will go to the Committee of Finance.

Bitcoin reserve funds are gaining support nationwide

Rose, a former coal miner, was elected on Nov. 5. He ran on a highly conservative platform and vocally supports U.S. President Donald Trump. In the months he has been in office, he has sponsored 12 bills, including this one. He is not a member of the banking or finance committees.

The West Virginia bill was introduced a day after a similar bill reached the Georgia Senate. The Georgia bill specifies that the state would invest in Bitcoin. 

Of all the state bills on digital asset reserve funds in the United States, Utah’s has made the most progress. That state’s Blockchain and Digital Innovation Amendments bill has made it through the state house of representatives and has been passed to the state senate.

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