SENATE BILL 275

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 2025

INTRODUCED BY

Anthony L. Thornton

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC FINANCE; ENACTING THE STRATEGIC BITCOIN RESERVE ACT.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act".

SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.--The legislature finds that bitcoin is increasingly being viewed by states and other nations as a monetary tool to protect against economic shocks and preserve purchasing power and that this tool should be available for the same purposes for the people of New Mexico.

SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act:

A. "bitcoin" refers to:

(1) the decentralized digital currency launched in 2009, based on Satoshi Nakamoto's whitepaper titled Bitcoin: A Peer-to-peer Electronic Cash System; and

(2) the digital asset that is the basis of the bitcoin exchange-traded product that is regulated by the federal securities and exchange commission;

B. "digital asset" means virtual currencies, cryptocurrencies, natively electronic assets, including stablecoins and non-fungible tokens, and other digital-only assets that confer economic, proprietary or access rights or powers;

C. "exchange-traded product" means a financial instrument that is approved by the federal securities and exchange commission, the commodity futures trading commission or the financial institutions division of the regulation and licensing department that is traded on an American regulated exchange and derives its value from an underlying pool of assets, such as stocks, bonds, commodities or indexes;

D. "private key" means a unique set of cryptographic data, used for signing transactions on a blockchain, that is known to the owner of the unique element;

E. "qualified custodian" means a federally or state-chartered bank, trust company or special purpose depository institution or a company regulated by New Mexico that custodies digital assets for approved exchange-traded products; and

F. "secure custody solution" means a technological product or blended product and service that has all of the following characteristics:

(1) the cryptographic private keys that secure digital assets are exclusively known and accessible by the government entity;

(2) the cryptographic private keys that secure digital assets are exclusively contained within an encrypted environment and accessible only via end-to-end encrypted channels;

(3) the cryptographic private keys that secure digital assets are never contained, accessible or controllable by a mobile communication device that can access the internet;

(4) any hardware that contains the cryptographic private keys that secure digital assets is maintained in at least two geographically diversified, specially designated, secure data centers;

(5) the secure custody solution enforces a multiparty governance structure for authorizing transactions, enforces user access controls and logs all user-initiated actions;

(6) the provider of the secure custody solution has implemented a disaster recovery protocol that ensures customer access to assets in the event the provider becomes unavailable; and

(7) the secure custody solution undergoes regular code audits and penetration testing from audit firms, and any identified vulnerabilities are promptly remedied.

SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] STATE INVESTMENT IN BITCOIN.--

A. The state treasurer and the state investment council may invest in bitcoin from the following funds:

(1) land grant permanent funds;

(2) the severance tax permanent fund;

(3) the tobacco settlement permanent fund; and

(4) any other state fund deemed appropriate by the state investment council.

B. The amount of public funds that the state treasurer and state investment council may invest in bitcoin shall not exceed five percent of the total amount of public funds in that fund.

C. Any digital assets acquired by any of the funds listed in Subsection A of this section shall be held:

(1) directly by the state treasurer or state investment council through the use of a secure custody solution;

(2) on behalf of the state by a qualified custodian; or

(3) in the form of an exchange-traded product issued by an investment company regulated by the federal securities and exchange commission or the federal commodity futures trading commission.

D. If a digital asset can be loaned without increasing the financial risk of the state, the state treasurer or state investment council may loan the digital asset to bring further return to the state through rules promulgated by the state treasurer.

SECTION 5. [NEW MATERIAL] TRANSFER OF BITCOIN TO GENERAL FUND--CONVERSION OF DIGITAL ASSETS.--All taxes or fees paid to the state in bitcoin or any other digital asset shall be transferred to the general fund within sixty days of receipt, and the general fund shall reimburse with United States currency whatever fund from which the qualifying digital asset was transferred. All digital assets in the general fund that are not bitcoin shall be converted to United States currency or bitcoin pursuant to rules promulgated by the state treasurer.

SECTION 6. [NEW MATERIAL] RETIREMENT FUND INVESTMENTS.--Trust funds held by the public employees retirement board and the educational retirement board may invest in exchange-traded products that have been registered by either the federal securities and exchange commission, the United States commodity futures trading commission or the securities division of the regulation and licensing department.

SECTION 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2025.

New Mexico S 275

Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act

2025 NE S 275

New Mexico S 275

Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act

2025 NE S 275