Florida Senate - 2026                             CS for SB 1038
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and Senator Gruters
       
       
       
       
       
       597-02291-26                                          20261038c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Florida Strategic
    3         Cryptocurrency Reserve; creating s. 215.991, F.S.;
    4         providing a short title; creating s. 215.992, F.S.;
    5         defining terms; creating s. 215.993, F.S.; authorizing
    6         the Chief Financial Officer to take certain actions in
    7         administering and managing the Florida Strategic
    8         Cryptocurrency Reserve; requiring the Chief Financial
    9         Officer to exercise judgment and care in a specified
   10         manner in administering and managing the reserve;
   11         authorizing payment of the reasonable cost of
   12         administering and managing the reserve from a
   13         specified source; authorizing the Chief Financial
   14         Officer to purchase cryptocurrency for the reserve
   15         only if a specified condition is met; authorizing the
   16         Chief Financial Officer to contract with certain
   17         third-party entities; authorizing the Chief Financial
   18         Officer to invest in derivative instruments of
   19         cryptocurrency under certain circumstances; specifying
   20         that money in the reserve may be used only for a
   21         specified purpose; authorizing the Chief Financial
   22         Officer to liquidate assets of the reserve and
   23         temporarily transfer the resulting moneys under
   24         certain circumstances; requiring that such moneys be
   25         returned as soon as practicable and in a specified
   26         manner; creating the Florida Strategic Cryptocurrency
   27         Reserve Advisory Committee for a specified purpose;
   28         specifying the composition of the committee;
   29         specifying matters the committee must advise on;
   30         specifying that members serve without compensation but
   31         may be reimbursed for certain expenses; specifying
   32         that members of the committee serve at the pleasure of
   33         the Chief Financial Officer; requiring, beginning on a
   34         specified date and biennially thereafter, the Chief
   35         Financial Officer to submit a report to the
   36         Legislature; specifying requirements for the report;
   37         requiring the Chief Financial Officer to liquidate
   38         assets of the reserve and transfer moneys to the
   39         General Revenue Fund upon the termination of the
   40         reserve; requiring the Chief Financial Officer to
   41         adopt rules; providing a contingent effective date.
   42          
   43  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   44  
   45         Section 1. Section 215.991, Florida Statutes, is created to
   46  read:
   47         215.991 Short title.—Sections 215.991-215.994 shall be
   48  known and may be cited as the “Florida Strategic Cryptocurrency
   49  Reserve Act.”
   50         Section 2. Section 215.992, Florida Statutes, is created to
   51  read:
   52         215.992Definitions relating to the Florida Strategic
   53  Cryptocurrency Reserve Act.—As used in this section and ss.
   54  215.993 and 215.994, the term:
   55         (1)“Airdrop” means a gratuitous distribution of
   56  cryptocurrency to users of a blockchain or protocol, generally
   57  made in a broad, equitable, and nondiscretionary manner.
   58         (2) “Blockchain” means a mathematically secured,
   59  chronological, decentralized, distributed, and digital ledger or
   60  database that consists of records of transactions that cannot be
   61  altered retroactively.
   62         (3)“Cryptocurrency” means a virtual currency that is not
   63  issued by any central authority, is designed to function as a
   64  medium of exchange, and uses encryption technology to regulate
   65  the generation of units of currency, to verify fund transfers,
   66  and to prevent counterfeiting.
   67         (4) “Distributed ledger” means technology in which data is
   68  shared across a network that creates a public digital ledger of
   69  verified transactions or information among network participants
   70  and in which cryptography is used to link the data to maintain
   71  the integrity of the public ledger and execute other functions.
   72         (5)“Fork” means a change to the protocol of a distributed
   73  ledger system which creates a separate ledger, which may result
   74  in a new cryptocurrency that shares a common transaction history
   75  with the previous cryptocurrency up to the point of change.
   76         (6) “Governmental entity” has the same meaning as in s.
   77  215.986.
   78         (7)“Private key” means confidential cryptographic data
   79  that allows a person or an entity to access, control, or
   80  authorize transactions involving cryptocurrency or virtual
   81  currency.
   82         (8)“Qualified custodian” means a state financial
   83  institution or a federally chartered institution or other entity
   84  regulated by the state which is permitted to act as a custodian
   85  of virtual currencies on behalf of clients.
   86         (9)“Qualified liquidity provider” means an entity that:
   87         (a)Is licensed or regulated under applicable federal or
   88  state law;
   89         (b)Maintains audited financial statements prepared by an
   90  independent certified public accountant;
   91         (c)Has at least 5 years of experience trading in the
   92  digital assets industry;
   93         (d)Maintains an office and has a registered principal in
   94  this state; and
   95         (e)Submits to the Chief Financial Officer a certification,
   96  in a form prescribed by the Chief Financial Officer, attesting
   97  that it meets the criteria in paragraphs (a)-(d).
   98         (10)“Reserve” means the Florida Strategic Cryptocurrency
   99  Reserve established under ss. 215.993 and 215.994.
  100         (11)“Secure custody solution” means a technological
  101  product or a blended product and service that meets all of the
  102  following criteria:
  103         (a)The cryptographic private keys are:
  104         1.Exclusively known by and accessible to the governmental
  105  entity;
  106         2.Contained within an encrypted environment and accessible
  107  only through end-to-end encrypted channels; and
  108         3.Not stored on, or accessible through, a smartphone.
  109         (b)The hardware containing the cryptographic private keys
  110  is maintained in at least two geographically diverse, secure
  111  data centers.
  112         (c)A multiparty governance structure for authorizing
  113  transactions is implemented, user access control is enforced,
  114  and all user-initiated actions are logged.
  115         (d)The provider implements a disaster recovery protocol
  116  ensuring state access to assets if the provider becomes
  117  unavailable.
  118         (e)The technological product or blended product and
  119  service undergoes regular code audits and penetration testing,
  120  with identified vulnerabilities promptly addressed.
  121         (12)“Virtual currency” has the same meaning as in s.
  122  896.101(2).
  123         Section 3. Section 215.993, Florida Statutes, is created to
  124  read:
  125         215.993Administration of the Florida Strategic
  126  Cryptocurrency Reserve.—
  127         (1)In administering and managing the reserve, the Chief
  128  Financial Officer may acquire, exchange, sell, supervise,
  129  manage, or retain cryptocurrency or any other asset authorized
  130  under this section and shall exercise the judgment and care that
  131  a prudent investor would exercise, in light of the purposes,
  132  terms, distribution requirements, and other circumstances of the
  133  reserve, by considering the reserve as a whole rather than a
  134  single investment. The reasonable costs of administering and
  135  managing the reserve may be paid from cryptocurrency held in the
  136  reserve or from the net proceeds of the sale or exchange of such
  137  cryptocurrency.
  138         (2)The Chief Financial Officer may purchase a
  139  cryptocurrency for the reserve only if the cryptocurrency has
  140  had an average market capitalization of at least $500 billion
  141  during the preceding 24-month period.
  142         (3)The Chief Financial Officer may contract with third
  143  party entities for the administration or management of the
  144  reserve, including contracting with any of the following
  145  entities:
  146         (a)A technology provider of a secure custody solution.
  147         (b)A certified public accountant, to perform an
  148  independent audit of the reserve.
  149         (c)A qualified custodian who utilizes a secure custody
  150  solution.
  151         (d)A qualified liquidity provider, to facilitate the
  152  purchase and sale of assets in the reserve.
  153         (4)The Chief Financial Officer may invest in derivative
  154  instruments of cryptocurrency authorized under s. 215.994(2)(c)
  155  if the Chief Financial Officer determines that such investment
  156  is in the best interest of the state.
  157         (5)(a)Moneys in the reserve may be used only for
  158  investment activities authorized under this section, for
  159  temporary cash-management purposes authorized under paragraph
  160  (b), and for paying the reasonable costs of administering and
  161  managing the reserve.
  162         (b)The Chief Financial Officer may liquidate assets of the
  163  reserve and temporarily transfer the resulting moneys to the
  164  State Treasury if required to comply with a specific
  165  appropriation by operation of law or order by the Governor.
  166         (c)Moneys temporarily transferred under paragraph (b) must
  167  be returned to the reserve as soon as practicable, together with
  168  any interest earned on such moneys while held in the State
  169  Treasury.
  170         (6)(a)The Florida Strategic Cryptocurrency Reserve
  171  Advisory Committee is created to advise the Chief Financial
  172  Officer in the administration and management of the reserve.
  173         (b)The committee shall consist of five members, as
  174  follows:
  175         1.The Chief Financial Officer, who shall serve as chair;
  176  and
  177         2.Four members appointed by the Chief Financial Officer by
  178  October 1, 2026, as follows:
  179         a.Three members with expertise in cryptocurrency
  180  investments; and
  181         b.One member with expertise in digital asset security.
  182         (c)The committee shall advise on matters relating to:
  183         1.The valuation of assets held in the reserve;
  184         2.Prudent investment policies, including investment
  185  objectives and asset allocation standards; and
  186         3.Prudent custody and security practices for the reserve.
  187         (d)Members of the committee shall serve without
  188  compensation but may be reimbursed for per diem and travel
  189  expenses in accordance with s. 112.061, if applicable.
  190         (e)Members appointed by the Chief Financial Officer serve
  191  at the pleasure of the Chief Financial Officer.
  192         (7)Beginning December 31, 2026, and biennially thereafter,
  193  the Chief Financial Officer shall submit a report to the
  194  President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
  195  Representatives which includes all of the following:
  196         (a) The amount of cryptocurrency held in the reserve on the
  197  last day of the preceding state fiscal year.
  198         (b) The estimated monetary value of the cryptocurrency held
  199  in the reserve on the last day of the preceding state fiscal
  200  year.
  201         (c) A summary of any changes in the amount and estimated
  202  monetary value of cryptocurrency held in the reserve during the
  203  preceding state fiscal year, disaggregated by cryptocurrency
  204  type.
  205         (d) A description of the actions taken by the Chief
  206  Financial Officer to administer and manage the reserve during
  207  the preceding state fiscal year.
  208         (8)Upon termination of the reserve under s. 215.994(4),
  209  the Chief Financial Officer shall liquidate any remaining assets
  210  of the reserve and transfer the resulting moneys to the General
  211  Revenue Fund.
  212         (9)The Chief Financial Officer shall adopt rules as
  213  necessary to administer this section.
  214         Section 4. This act shall take effect on July 1, 2026, but
  215  only if SB 1040 or similar legislation takes effect, if such
  216  legislation is adopted in the same legislative session or an
  217  extension thereof and becomes a law.