The Michigan House Committee on Economic Competitiveness on Nov. 8 took testimony on a package of bills that would protect residents’ ability to hold digital assets, authorize limited pension-fund exposure to established cryptocurrencies through exchange-traded funds and allow the use of abandoned oil and gas wells to power Bitcoin mining, with a proposed tax exemption to encourage remediation.

Representative Posthumous, the majority floor leader, introduced House Bill 45-11 and framed the package as forward-looking. “In the near future… cryptocurrency and digital assets will be the foundation of the financial world,” Representative Posthumous said during an overview of the proposal, arguing for consumer protections and open participation without new licensing requirements.

Why it matters: supporters said the bills would open economic opportunities, create guardrails for public investments and convert environmental liabilities into productive use. Representative Schutte testified that House Bill 45-10 would amend the Public Employee Retirement System Investment Act to let the state treasurer, when acting as fiduciary, invest in digital assets that meet narrow criteria: an average market capitalization of at least $250,000,000,000 over the prior calendar year, investment only via registered ETFs, and a cap of no more than 5% of a pension fund’s portfolio. Schutte said the limits are intended to avoid exposure to small or highly speculative tokens while permitting measured institutional exposure.

Proponents cited potential returns and institutional controls. Schutte gave hypothetical historical examples, saying an $8 million investment in a Bitcoin ETF in 2018 “would have had a more than 600% return” in later years and that similar ETF exposure could produce substantial gains for pension beneficiaries. Witnesses also emphasized ETF and custodian oversight as a guardrail for auditability and custody.

Representative McFaul described two related bills, House Bills 45-12 and 45-13, that would let Bitcoin miners use methane at abandoned wells overseen by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) to fuel onsite generation; operators would be required to cap wells later, and the bills would offer a tax exemption for Bitcoin mined through the program to incentivize remediation. “These wells, which leak methane, a potent greenhouse gas, can be repurposed to power Bitcoin mining,” McFaul said, adding that the bills include a substitute drafted in coordination with EGLE staff to address agency concerns.

Committee members asked how mining fueled by abandoned wells would affect ratepayers and whether onsite generation would be grid-connected. McFaul and other proponents said the plan envisions electricity generated at the well site for mining hardware rather than transmission onto the grid, and that burning methane onsite reduces fugitive emissions compared with uncontrolled release; proponents described capping wells when the resource is exhausted.

Stakeholders offered mixed testimony. Amber Harris of the Michigan Bitcoin Trade Council presented technical background on Bitcoin, distinguishing Bitcoin from other cryptocurrencies and urging legal protections for node operators and self-custody; she cited examples of other states’ actions and bolstered arguments about ledger transparency and scarcity. Tom McCarthy of the Satoshi Action Fund supported HB 45-11 and urged prohibitions on state or political-subdivision bans of digital assets and on state support for central bank digital currencies, citing privacy concerns. Environmental groups including the Sierra Club and the Michigan Environmental Council submitted opposition on the record to the mining provisions; the Michigan Department of Treasury registered neutral on HB 45-10.

What the bills would not do at this meeting: the committee took testimony and read supporting and opposing public-comment cards but did not conduct a committee vote on the bills. Committee members asked sponsors for more detailed drafting and promised further opportunity for follow-up questions and amendments.

Clarifying details discussed in committee included the 5% pension cap and the $250 billion market-cap threshold in HB 45-10, the ETF-only investment approach, the requirement that miners cap wells after use under HB 45-12, and a proposed tax exemption mechanism in HB 45-13. Where witnesses cited historical returns or adoption rates, those examples were framed by speakers as illustrative rather than as committee findings.

The committee moved on after a substantive hearing; members said additional briefings and technical follow-up would be needed before any committee votes.