A pair of Republican lawmakers introduced bills in the House and Senate that would grant Florida’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) the authority to invest up to 10 percent of certain public funds in Bitcoin.

The pieces of legislation, filed by Rep. Webster Barnaby and Sen. Joe Gruters, would permit the CFO to invest in Bitcoin using funds from the General Revenue Fund, the Budget Stabilization Fund, trust funds of state agencies, and any other auxiliary accounts designated by the Legislature. The investment would be subject to a cap, limiting Bitcoin holdings to no more than 10 percent of any given fund’s total balance. The bills also grant the State Board of Administration the authority to invest a similar percentage of pension fund assets in Bitcoin.

“Inflation has eroded the purchasing power of assets held in state funds managed by the Chief Financial Officer and this erosion diminishes the value of the state’s reserves,” reads the House bill, filed by Barnaby. “Bitcoin is viewed as a hedge against inflation by sovereign nations and prominent investment advisors … this state should have access to tools such as Bitcoin to protect against inflation.”

Under the bills, Florida would also begin accepting Bitcoin for the payment of taxes and fees. Revenue collected in Bitcoin would be transferred to the state’s General Revenue Fund, which would then reimburse designated funds in U.S. dollars. The proposals further amend state statutes governing public fund investments, explicitly adding Bitcoin to the list of permissible assets.

The legislation outlines custodial and security requirements for Bitcoin holdings. The CFO would be required to store assets using a “secure custody solution,” ensuring that cryptographic private keys remain encrypted, inaccessible via smartphones, and housed in at least two geographically diverse, secure data centers. Bitcoin may be held directly by the state, through a qualified custodian such as a regulated financial institution, or via an exchange-traded product backed by Bitcoin. Additionally, the CFO would be permitted to loan Bitcoin to generate returns, provided such transactions do not increase financial risk.

The measures would additionally amend several existing statutes to accommodate Bitcoin investments, including provisions for state pension funds managed by the State Board of Administration. The bills specify that Bitcoin investments would join the list of authorized assets under Florida law, which currently includes U.S. Treasury securities, corporate obligations, and other traditional instruments. Further, public Bitcoin investments would be exempt from certain security requirements applied to other state deposits.

If ratified, the bill would be enacted on July 1, 2025.