Important points
- Indiana has announced a new bill that would allow cryptocurrency investment options in the state’s pension system.
- The bill would allow a number of public investment programs in Indiana to offer virtual currency ETFs.
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The Indiana General Assembly has introduced a new bill that would allow public pension systems to offer crypto exposure to participants, joining a growing trend of states considering cryptocurrencies and digital assets in public investment programs.
The bill, HB1042, would require many public retirement and savings plans to offer virtual currency ETFs and allow others to invest in them on a voluntary basis. It proposes establishing a Blockchain and Digital Assets Task Force to study government and consumer applications and recommend pilot projects.
The law prohibits state and local agencies from restricting the use, mining, or self-storage of lawful digital assets and also aims to protect private keys as privileged information.
The push for this bill comes as government agencies increasingly recognize Bitcoin as a store of value. The Federal Bitcoin Act proposes to use the rising value of Bitcoin to help offset the national debt through the Strategic Reserve System.
U.S. Treasury officials have indicated there are no current plans for a federal acquisition of Bitcoin, leaving each state to pursue its own digital asset strategy through pension fund allocations.
