South Dakota Revives Bitcoin Investment Push With New State Treasury Bill

South Dakota is once again weighing whether bitcoin should play a role in managing public money, as a new bill seeks to open the door for state-level crypto investments.

A proposal introduced this week would update the state’s public investment rules, allowing the State Investment Council to allocate a slice of eligible funds to bitcoin. Under the plan, the allocation would be capped at 10% and could be achieved through direct ownership, approved custodians, or regulated exchange-traded products.

The legislation also goes beyond simple exposure, outlining strict safeguards for any state-held bitcoin. These include sole control over private keys, encrypted hardware storage, geographically dispersed secure locations, shared governance structures, and recurring security audits.

The bill has completed its first reading and has been sent to the House Committee on Commerce and Energy for further consideration. It closely resembles an earlier proposal that stalled last year after running into procedural timing limits near the end of the legislative session.

South Dakota’s renewed effort reflects a broader shift across the U.S., as more states explore bitcoin as a potential reserve or diversification asset. Similar initiatives are moving forward in states such as Kansas and Florida, while others have already enacted crypto reserve frameworks.

At the national level, momentum has also been building after the federal government formally created a strategic bitcoin reserve, using assets seized through legal proceedings and barring their sale. Together, these moves signal growing interest among U.S. governments in treating bitcoin as a long-term strategic asset rather than a fringe experiment.