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Sponsor seeks legislative authority for a Tennessee 'strategic Bitcoin reserve'; committee hears brief testimony
Summary
Representative Barrett introduced HB 16-95 to create a Tennessee strategic Bitcoin reserve; he and a limited number of witnesses described a proposed structure that would require legislative appropriation before the state treasurer could invest.
Representative Barrett described HB 16-95 as creating a Tennessee strategic Bitcoin reserve and said the attached amendment changes the bill so that investments would proceed only after an appropriation by the legislature. "Essentially what we're doing here is changing the bill the way it is structured to where now it would require an appropriation from the legislature in order there for there to be funds to be invested," Barrett said.
The committee briefly heard two witnesses and limited discussion before the chair placed the bill behind the budget for fiscal review. One witness for the Tennessee Bitcoin Alliance (Daniel Hinton) argued that institutional adoption and improved custody solutions make a reserve feasible and criticized the fiscal note as overstating program costs; he said modern custody reduces institutional risk and urged empowering the state treasurer. The bill will return for fiscal analysis and potential amendment.
