MAROKO133 Hot crypto: South Dakota Lawmaker Revives Bill to Allow State Bitcoin Investment

📌 MAROKO133 Breaking crypto: South Dakota Lawmaker Revives Bill to Allow State Bit

A South Dakota lawmaker has reintroduced legislation that would allow the state to invest a portion of its public funds in Bitcoin, reviving a proposal that stalled during last year’s legislative session.

Republican Representative Logan Manhart introduced House Bill 1155 on Tuesday, seeking to amend South Dakota’s public investment statutes to permit the State Investment Council to allocate up to 10% of eligible state funds to Bitcoin.

The bill would allow exposure through direct holdings, qualified custodians or regulated exchange-traded products.

South Dakota Bitcoin Bill Sets Strict Custody and Security Rules

“I am proud to say I have released my bill that would allow the State of South Dakota to invest in Bitcoin,” Manhart wrote in a post on X. “Strong money. Strong state.”

The proposal outlines detailed custody and security requirements for any state-held Bitcoin.

These include exclusive control of private keys, encrypted hardware storage, geographically distributed secure facilities, multi-party governance controls and regular security audits.

House Bill 1155 has received its first reading and has been referred to the Committee on Commerce and Energy, according to the official legislative journal.

The measure closely resembles House Bill 1202, which Manhart introduced during the 2025 legislative session.

That earlier effort sought to add Bitcoin to the list of permissible state investments but failed to advance after being deferred beyond South Dakota’s 40-day legislative session limit.

The renewed push comes as interest in Bitcoin-backed reserves grows among US states.

Lawmakers in Kansas and Florida have advanced similar proposals, while Arizona, Texas and New Hampshire have already passed legislation allowing some form of crypto reserve strategy.

At the federal level, the US government established a strategic Bitcoin reserve last year following a March executive order signed by President Donald Trump.

The reserve is funded using Bitcoin seized in criminal and civil cases, assets that are legally barred from being sold.

Supporters argue that Bitcoin could serve as a long-term hedge against inflation and currency debasement, while critics have raised concerns about price volatility and risk management.

Kansas Weighs Bitcoin Reserve Fund

As reported, lawmakers in Kansas are considering legislation that would create a state-managed Bitcoin and digital assets reserve funded entirely by unclaimed digital property already held by the state.

Senate Bill 352, introduced by Senator Craig Bowser, proposes establishing a reserve within the state treasury overseen by the Kansas state treasurer, without using taxpayer funds or direct cryptocurrency purchases.

Under the proposal, the reserve would be built from abandoned digital assets such as unclaimed Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies, airdrops, staking rewards and interest that fall under Kansas’ unclaimed property laws.

The bill specifies that 10% of each deposit would be transferred to the state’s general fund, while Bitcoin would remain locked within the reserve.

Internationally, countries such as El Salvador and Bhutan have already taken more direct approaches, incorporating Bitcoin into national strategies through state holdings, mining initiatives, and development projects tied to digital assets.

The post South Dakota Lawmaker Revives Bill to Allow State Bitcoin Investment appeared first on Cryptonews.

🔗 Sumber: cryptonews.com

📌 MAROKO133 Update crypto: 39% of Merchants, 60% of Banks: Crypto Payments Hit Tip

Signs that cryptocurrency is transitioning from a speculative asset to a legitimate payment method are emerging across the United States.

The convergence of merchant adoption, major banks entering the Bitcoin business, and massive investment flowing into payment infrastructure is fueling predictions that 2026 could mark the tipping point for crypto payments.

39% of Merchants Already Accept Crypto

According to a survey released Jan. 27 by PayPal and the National Cryptocurrency Association (NCA), 39% of US merchants already accept cryptocurrency payments. Meanwhile, 84% expect crypto payments to become commonplace within the next five years.

Consumer demand is driving adoption. Eighty-eight percent of merchants report receiving customer inquiries about paying with crypto, and 69% say customers want to use crypto at least once a month. By generation, interest from Millennials (77%) and Gen Z (73%) is overwhelming. Notably, small businesses see the highest inquiry rates from Gen Z at 82%, far exceeding mid-size companies (67%) and large enterprises (65%).

By industry, hospitality and travel leads at 81%, followed by digital goods, gaming, and luxury retail (76%), and retail and e-commerce (69%).

“What we’re seeing both in this data and in conversations with our customers is that crypto payments are moving beyond experimentation and into everyday commerce,” said May Zabaneh, Vice President and General Manager of Crypto at PayPal. “When crypto payments are offered in ways that feel as familiar as cards or online payments, they become a powerful growth tool.”

A striking finding is that 90% of merchants said they would accept crypto if the setup process were as simple as accepting credit cards.

“What this data makes clear is that interest in crypto isn’t the problem; understanding is,” said Stu Alderoty, President of the NCA. “We’re working together to help close the knowledge gap and show how crypto can be simple, accessible, and easy for everyday businesses and consumers.”

60% of Top US Banks Move Into Bitcoin

Traditional finance is also moving fast. According to January 2025 data from crypto financial platform River, 60% of the top 25 US banks by assets—15 institutions—have either launched or announced Bitcoin custody or trading services.

PNC Group has launched both custody and trading services. JPMorgan Chase, Charles Schwab, and UBS have announced trading services, while Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo are offering services to high-net-worth clients. American Express has introduced a Bitcoin rewards card.

Just a year ago, most Wall Street giants maintained a wait-and-see approach. Now they are rushing into the crypto business—clearly indicating that demand from institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals has reached levels too significant to ignore.

Mesh Achieves Unicorn Status as Capital Flows to Infrastructure

Investment in payment infrastructure is accelerating. Crypto payments network Mesh announced on Jan. 27 that it raised $75 million in Series C funding, achieving unicorn status with a $1 billion valuation. Total funding now exceeds $200 million.

Dragonfly Capital led the round, with participation from Paradigm, Coinbase Ventures, and SBI Investment. Notably, a portion of the funding was settled using stablecoins. Mesh described this as “definitive proof that global institutions are now comfortably relying on blockchain-native settlement when enterprise-grade execution, auditability, and controls are firmly in place.”

Mesh’s core technology, SmartFunding, enables an “Any-to-Any” structure: consumers pay with any cryptocurrency they hold—whether Bitcoin or Solana—while merchants receive instant settlement in their preferred stablecoin (USDC, PYUSD) or in fiat currency. The network currently reaches more than 900 million users worldwide.

“The winners of the next decade won’t be those who issue the most tokens, but those who build the network of networks that makes traditional card rails obsolete,” said Bam Azizi, Co-founder and CEO of Mesh.

Will 2026 Be the Turning Point?

The three data points converge on a single direction. Consumer demand for crypto payments—especially among younger generations—has reached critical mass. Merchants and traditional financial institutions are responding. And massive capital is flowing into the infrastructure to support it all.

Challenges remain. As the PayPal-NCA survey revealed, simplicity is still the biggest barrier. But it is encouraging that companies like Mesh are focused on hiding complexity behind the scenes and delivering a user experience identical to traditional payments.

Cryptocurrency is moving from the realm of speculation to the realm of infrastructure. 2026 may be the year that transition begins in earnest.

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🔗 Sumber: www.beincrypto.com