West Virginia is relaunching its Bitcoin reserve project, one year after its first attempt failed. This new bill aims to authorize the state to invest in “inflation hedges” such as gold, silver, and Bitcoin. Will this time be the charm?
West Virginia revives its Bitcoin reserve project
On February 14, 2025, West Virginia became the 23rd state to introduce a bill to create a Bitcoin reserve. Although Bitcoin was not explicitly mentioned in the bill, it was the only asset that met the established criteria. The bill was introduced by Senator Chris Rose (Republican), a former coal miner and current chairman of the Senate Energy, Industry, and Mining Committee.
It was first reviewed by the Banking and Insurance Committee, then by the Finance Committee. These specialized committees are responsible for reviewing, amending, and approving the bill before it is voted on by the Senate.
The problem is that Senate Bill 465 (SB 465) died in committee, meaning that it was not adopted by the entire legislature and remained at the committee presentation stage.
But now, one year later, on January 14, 2026, SB 143 is also being introduced during a regular session. This bill is actually a reintroduction of Senator Chris Rose’s proposed inflation protection bill.
Upon analysis, the texts are broadly similar, with only a few differences in form, mainly for political purposes.
For example, in the 2025 text, no assets were explicitly mentioned; the description was purely technical, neutral, and administrative. The new text directly mentions gold, silver, and Bitcoin, thus marking a more political orientation. At the start of the 2026 legislative session, plans for Bitcoin reserves, which had fallen into oblivion, seem to be resurfacing, as recently illustrated by Florida’s revival.
What exactly are we talking about?
The aim of this text is to authorize certain state investments in assets that are considered bulwarks against inflation: gold, silver, and Bitcoin.
The bill would allow the Board of Treasury Investments to allocate up to 10% of the funds it oversees.
The state would thus be authorized to invest in:
- Stablecoins that have received regulatory approval at the federal or state level;
- Precious metals such as silver, gold, or platinum;
- Cryptocurrencies with a market capitalization of more than $750 billion on average over the previous year;
- Any other derivative and exchange-traded product issued by a registered investment company.
It should be noted that the capitalization threshold rule is a means of limiting investment to the mother of cryptocurrencies: BTC.
Furthermore, the 10% cap applies at the time of investment and is not intended to force the asset manager to sell assets in the event of an increase in their value.
The aim is not to leave these assets dormant, but to use them to generate income through staking or dividends, for example.
The text also aims to establish detailed rules for the management of cryptocurrencies. Standards relating to key management, geographic redundancy, and access control are specified in the text. If this text passes the special committee stage, the State Treasurer is empowered to propose other internal regulations concerning the implementation of this law, provided that these rules are approved by the legislature.
