Oklahoma’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Bill Fails in Senate Committee

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Oklahoma's Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Bill Fails in Senate Committee
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After a very close vote on Tuesday, the Oklahoma Strategic Bitcoin Reserve bill failed to pass the Senate committee. Before the bill’s defeat, Oklahoma was one of four states that had introduced the SBR bill into the Senate.

Oklahoma Drops Out of the Bitcoin Reserve Race

HB 1203, primarily sponsored by Representative Cody Maynard and Senator Brian Guthrie, would allow the state treasurer to invest public funds in Bitcoin and other digital currencies and stablecoins with a market capitalization of over $500 billion.

The bill also proposed investing a maximum of 10% of all funds, including the State General Fund, the Constitutional Reserve Fund, and the Revenue Stabilization Fund, in these assets. The state would choose to have the assets invested by the state treasurer either through a secure custody service managed by a reputable custodian or as an exchange-traded product (ETP).

Of the 40 active SBR bills, Oklahoma’s bill was among the top four, along with Arizona, New Hampshire, and Texas’ Strategic Bitcoin Reserve bills. So far, only these states have managed to advance the novel bill to the second committee.

In March 2025, HB 1203 passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives by a stunning margin of 77 to 15, boosting confidence and increasing the likelihood that the bill would pass the next milestones with minimal opposition.

On Tuesday, however, the Oklahoma Senate Committee on Revenue and Taxation concluded, with a vote of 5 in favor and 6 against, that the promising bill could not be introduced into the Senate. This was despite Senator Guthrie’s pro-Bitcoin closing statement during the session.

Senator Guthrie’s Failed Pro-Bitcoin Speech

Senator Guthrie pointed out to his colleagues that Bitcoin has risen a whopping 12,000% over the past decade, delivering an annualized return of 49%. He also pointed out that there hasn’t been a single four-year period in which Bitcoin has lost money.

“Oklahoma can be the last in the game, or we can be the first… This bill sets guardrails… It says we’ll only invest in something that has a $500 billion market cap,” Guthrie said.

“People don’t have a hand in this. This isn’t a company that can fail. Bitcoin is too big to fail.”

He also pointed out the fiduciary responsibility to their constituents by investing in Bitcoin and other potentially lucrative digital currencies, as opposed to investing in foreign bonds, which he said are “not a good investment.”

Bitcoin voters influenced a “yes” vote

While Guthrie’s speech didn’t produce any tangible results, another senator, Christi Gillespie, who represents District 33 in Oklahoma, said she changed her “no” vote to “yes” that day after hearing from her Bitcoin constituents.

“Because these constituents reached out and talked to me about this, I’m going to vote yes today,” Gillespie said.

With Oklahoma dropping out of the SBR race, Arizona remains in the lead and looks forward to passing the second chamber, while New Hampshire and Texas are attempting to pass their respective second committees.


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