South Dakota Proposes Bill Allowing State to Invest in Bitcoin

South Dakota Republican Representative Logan Manhart has introduced House Bill 1155, which would permit the state to invest public funds in Bitcoin (BTC). The legislation allows the State Investment Council to allocate up to 10% of available state investment funds into BTC. The bill details secure holding options, including direct custody via a secure solution, qualified custodians, or exchange-traded products (ETPs). Security is paramount, requiring private keys to be exclusively controlled by the Investment Council and stored in encrypted, geographically separated hardware environments. Transaction approvals would involve multi-party governance, and the proposal mandates regular code audits and penetration testing. Manhart stated the bill supports "Strong money. Strong state." This move follows growing interest from other U.S. states, such as New Hampshire, which authorized crypto investments, and Rhode Island, which proposed a temporary Bitcoin tax exemption.

(Source：Bitcoin Magazine)