Republican

Bitcoin

Strong

Reserve

<p>South Dakota lawmakers are once again weighing whether Bitcoin should play a role in the state’s long-term financial strategy.</p>
<p>Republican Representative Logan Manhart has introduced <strong><a href="https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/26633" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">House Bill 1155</a></strong>, reopening a legislative effort to allow public funds to be invested in Bitcoin.</p>
<p>The proposal closely follows a similar initiative that was deferred during the 2025 legislative session, but arrives in a changed political and market environment, where digital assets are increasingly discussed as strategic reserve tools rather than purely speculative instruments.</p>
<h3 id="what-hb-1155-would-allow">What HB 1155 would allow</h3>
<p>HB 1155 would amend state investment statutes to permit the South Dakota State Investment Council to allocate up to 10% of certain public funds into Bitcoin. Eligible pools include educational and charitable trust funds overseen by the council, rather than operating budgets or pension obligations.</p>
<p>Based on publicly reported fund totals of approximately $16.6 billion as of June 2024, the bill could theoretically authorize Bitcoin exposure exceeding $8 billion, though the legislation does not mandate any specific allocation level. Actual deployment would remain at the discretion of the Investment Council.</p>
<p>The bill frames Bitcoin as a strategic asset rather than a trading position, with Representative Manhart promoting the concept under the slogan “Strong money. Strong state,” and positioning Bitcoin as a hedge against long-term inflation and currency debasement.</p>
<div class="read-more tdi_7">
 <div class="td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack td-cpt-post td-module-exclusive">
  <div class="td-module-container">
   <div class="td-image-container">
    <div class="td-module-thumb">
     <a href="https://www.ethnews.com/russia-criminalizes-interaction-with-foreign-crypto-platform/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> <span></span> </a>
    </div>
   </div>
   <div class="td-module-meta-info">
    <h3 class="entry-title td-module-title" id="a-href-https-www-ethnews-com-russia-criminalizes-interaction-with-foreign-crypto-platform-rel-noopener-noreferrer-nofollow-russia-criminalizes-interaction-with-foreign-crypto-platform-a"><a href="https://www.ethnews.com/russia-criminalizes-interaction-with-foreign-crypto-platform/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Russia Criminalizes Interaction With Foreign Crypto Platform</a></h3>
   </div>
  </div>
 </div>
</div>
<h3 id="custody-and-governance-requirements">Custody and governance requirements</h3>
<p>A central feature of HB 1155 is its emphasis on security and institutional-grade custody. The proposal requires that private keys be exclusively controlled by the State Investment Council, eliminating reliance on third-party custodians for key management.</p>
<p>Storage would need to be hardware-secured and distributed across at least two geographically separate locations, reducing single-point-of-failure risk. In addition, the bill mandates multi-party approval structures for transactions and regular third-party code audits, embedding governance controls more commonly seen in institutional digital asset frameworks.</p>
<p>These provisions are designed to address operational and political concerns around custody risk, which have historically been a major obstacle for public-sector crypto adoption.</p>
<h3 id="broader-state-and-national-context">Broader state and national context</h3>
<p>South Dakota’s renewed push places it alongside a growing list of U.S. states exploring Bitcoin-related legislation. Jurisdictions including Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire have introduced measures ranging from treasury investment authorization to broader digital asset integration strategies.</p>
<p>Within South Dakota itself, HB 1155 is part of a wider legislative focus on cryptocurrency in 2026. Lawmakers have also advanced Senate Bill 98, a bipartisan effort introduced in January aimed at reducing fraud linked to cryptocurrency kiosks, commonly referred to as crypto ATMs.</p>
<p>Separately, the state Attorney General has proposed amendments to seizure laws to explicitly include digital currency, enabling law enforcement to confiscate crypto assets connected to criminal investigations.</p>
<h3 id="structural-takeaway">Structural takeaway</h3>
<p>HB 1155 does not compel South Dakota to buy Bitcoin, but it would remove a key legal barrier preventing public funds from doing so. By combining a high theoretical allocation ceiling with strict custody and governance rules, the bill reflects a cautious but increasingly strategic view of digital assets at the state level.</p>
<p>If advanced, the proposal would test whether Bitcoin is moving from a political talking point into a legitimate reserve consideration for U.S. state treasuries, marking another step in the normalization of digital assets within public finance frameworks.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.ethnews.com/south-dakota-revives-bitcoin-reserve-bill-with-up-to-10-allocation-plan/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">South Dakota Revives Bitcoin Reserve Bill With Up to 10% Allocation Plan</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ethnews.com" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ETHNews</a>.</p>

South Dakota Revives Bitcoin Reserve Bill With Up to 10% Allocation Plan

Table of Contents

ETHNews

Other articles published on Jan 28, 2026

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!