Tennessee Plans Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Allocating Up To 10% Of State Funds

bitcoinistPublished on 2026-01-16Last updated on 2026-01-16

Abstract

Tennessee is proposing a bill, HB1695, to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, allowing the state Treasurer to invest up to 10% of state funds in Bitcoin. This initiative, designed as an inflation hedge, includes secure custody protocols and restricts holdings to Bitcoin. Following Texas's precedent of integrating Bitcoin into its treasury strategy, Tennessee's bill will undergo legislative scrutiny. Other states like West Virginia and Missouri are also advancing similar proposals to allocate state funds to cryptocurrency reserves, highlighting a growing trend in U.S. state-level Bitcoin adoption.

Despite facing a significant setback with the delay of the crucial vote on the crypto market structure bill, cryptocurrency adoption continues to gain momentum across the United States. Tennessee is now looking to follow Texas’s lead by introducing a new bill, HB1695, aimed at establishing its own Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

Tennessee’s Bitcoin Reserve Proposal

According to reports on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the proposed legislation would authorize the state Treasurer to invest up to 10% of state funds in Bitcoin. This initiative includes mandates for secure custody protocols and restricts holdings exclusively to Bitcoin, designed as a strategy to hedge against inflation.

Texas has set a precedent in this area, making headlines last November as the first state in the US to integrate cryptocurrencies into its treasury strategy by purchasing $10 million worth of Bitcoin.

This move, signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025, was sponsored by State Senator Charles Schwertner and garnered bipartisan support, with a Senate vote of 25-5 in March and a House vote of 101-42 in May.

Now, the proposed Bitcoin reserve bill in Tennessee will need to undergo similar legislative scrutiny to potentially join Texas in making significant strides toward state-level Bitcoin investments.

Crypto Reserves In The Works

Tennessee and Texas are not alone in their pursuit of cryptocurrency reserves. West Virginia has also introduced its own proposal under bill SB143, which would allocate 10% of state funds for its cryptocurrency reserve.

This bill empowers the Treasury to invest in Bitcoin and gold as an inflation hedge, essentially making BTC the sole digital reserve asset while additionally allowing for staking.

Missouri, on the other hand, has seen greater progress recently advancing its own proposal to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Fund. The bill, known as HB 2080, has successfully passed its second reading and now moves towards further consideration in the House.

The daily chart shows BTC’s price retracing below the key $95,000 mark on Friday. Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView.com

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com

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