House defeats proposal to allow Montana up to $50M in cryptocurrency investments

House Bill 429, coined "The Inflation Protection Act of 2025," would have created a special revenue account to allow for the investment of up to $50 million general fund – which is largely funded by state income tax – dollars to be invested in precious metals and digital assets like cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

The bill failed in the House on Saturday 41-59, with 18 Republicans and all but one Democrat voting against it.

Proponents argued that the bill would not require general fund money be invested, but rather give the state the option to do so. As the bill was written, the money would have been released to the board at the governor office’s discretion, explained bill sponsor Rep. Curtis Schomer, R-Billings.

Proponents also said the proposal was simply giving the board an “extra tool.”

“This is about giving options,” said House Majority Leader Steve Fitzpatrick, R-Great Falls. “I realize it sounds a little risky here, but this is the wave of the future.”

Huge price swings are a trademark feature of the cryptocurrency markets, and opponents said the assets are too “risky” and “volatile,” adding that more care should be taken with the “hard-earned dollars” of taxpayers.

“I think if any one of us want to do that with our money, or a portion of our money, that's our right, but this is taxpayer money and we’re talking about potentially $50 million of this taxpayer money,” said Rep. Ed Stafman, D-Bozeman.

“I came here to fix problems, not gamble,” he added.

On the other side of the aisle, Rep. Jane Gillette, R-Three Forks, who identified herself as a “fiscal conservative,” spoke directly to her caucus on the House floor Saturday.

“I'd encourage all of you fiscal conservatives … who have signed onto this to change your mind,” she said.

An amendment to fund the legislation with interest accrued on unspent pandemic relief dollars, a pot of money that has recently come under fire by lawmakers, also failed Saturday. The board of investments has already been allocated $12 million of those interest dollars to buy an office building in Helena.

“The question here is how much discretion do you really want to give the board of investments?” Rep. Bill Mercer, R-Billings, asked. He opposed the legislation.

During a committee hearing for the bill earlier this month, the two people who testified in favor of the legislation spoke on behalf of Satoshi Action Fund, a nonprofit lobbying for pro-Bitcoin laws in multiple states.

Lawmakers in North Dakota recently rejected a proposal similar to Montana’s House Bill 429, but the Utah Legislature is close to passing a bill that would authorize the state’s treasury to invest millions in public dollars in digital assets like Bitcoin.