Committee hears sponsor testimony on Ohio Bitcoin Reserve Fund bill that would let state accept Bitcoin for taxes and hold it five years

Senate Bill 57, introduced by Sen. O'Brien, received a first hearing before the Senate Financial Institutions, Insurance and Technology Committee. The bill would create an Ohio Bitcoin Reserve Fund in the state treasurer’s office, allow the state to accept tax and fee payments in Bitcoin, and require Bitcoin held in the fund to be retained for at least five years before conversion to U.S. dollars or other currencies.

“O B R F,” O’Brien said, describing the bill’s proposed security measures, including private-key controls, limits on certain computer access and logging of user-initiated actions, and holding designated custodians to the treasurer’s standard for Bitcoin custody.

O’Brien told the committee the fund could be used “as a hedge against inflation” and argued Ohio should be positioned to follow federal policy. He referenced the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets and said, “When this group issues its recommendations, Ohio will be ready.” He also described Bitcoin as a decentralized digital currency and said many corporations and institutional investors have exposure to crypto.

Vice Chair Lang asked whether the bill’s references to “Bitcoin” were intended to cover other cryptocurrencies; O’Brien replied that the bill is specific to Bitcoin and suggested reading the original Bitcoin white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto to understand the design.

Chairman Wilson called the bill up for its first hearing and excused the sponsor after testimony. No committee vote or formal action was recorded during the hearing.

Why it matters: The bill would create a novel state-held cryptocurrency fund, change the state’s payment options for taxes and fees, and raise operational and custody questions for the treasurer’s office and designated custodians.

The committee concluded the first hearing on Senate Bill 57 with no recorded vote.