Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Several states in the U.S. are already considering the idea of a strategic Bitcoin reserve as proponents await a push from Donald Trump on the federal level.

On the campaign trail for the November 2024 elections, now President-elect Donald Trump made several big promises to the crypto industry. Still, none has been as talked about following the election as his intention to launch a strategic U.S. Bitcoin reserve.

However, while pundits continue to debate the feasibility of such a move at the Federal level and its possible market impacts, some states may be looking to get in on the action.

U.S. States Consider the Orange Pill Following Donald Trump’s election victory, at least three U.S. states are considering building their own Bitcoin stockpile employing unique frameworks, as recently highlighted in a CNBC Crypto World report on Tuesday, December 24. Speaking with CNBC, Centrifuge General Counsel Eli Cohen asserted that the development was significantly positive for the crypto markets.

Pennsylvania  On November 12, barely a week after Trump’s announcement as the next U.S. president, Pennsylvania State Representative Mike Cabell proposed a bill to allow the state treasurer to invest state funds in Bitcoin.

House Bill 2664, or the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act, seeks to allow the treasurer to invest up to 10% of the State General Fund, the Rainy Day Fund, and the State Investment Fund in Bitcoin.

Cabell argues that implementing the bill would help protect state assets against inflation. He asserted that the state’s purchasing power had reduced by a staggering 20% in the past four years alone while Bitcoin continues to gain strength against the dollar.

So far, Pennsylvania’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act has received only one co-sponsor, Representative Aaron Kaufer.

Texas On December 12, Texas State Representative Giovanni Capriglione proposed House Bill 1598, or the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act, to allow the state to establish a Bitcoin reserve within its treasury.

Unlike Pennsylvania’s proposed bill allowing the treasurer to purchase Bitcoin with established state funds, the proposed Texas bill will establish the reserve by enabling residents to pay charges and taxes with Bitcoin. The stockpile will also be open to voluntary donations.

The Texas bill also details the establishment of cold storage and a holding period, noting that the state must not sell the reserve for at least five years.

Like Pennsylvania’s Cabell, Capriglione also argues that Bitcoin could act as an inflationary hedge preserving value for Texans.

On Tuesday, Centrifuge’s Eli Cohen told CNBC that Texas’ bill may face significant infrastructure hurdles and problems getting the crypto community to submit their wallet for taxes.

Ohio Ohio is the most recent to join the Bitcoin rush. On December 17, state Representative Derek Merrin submitted a proposal to allow the state to establish a Bitcoin stockpile.

House Bill 703, or Ohio’s Bitcoin Reserve Act, seeks to give the state treasurer the flexibility to invest in Bitcoin if they desire and build a reserve from seized assets.

Merrin hopes the bill will pave the way for quick legislation in 2025.

The recent state bills, like the proposed national effort, are all in their early stages, and it remains unclear if they can garner the needed support to become law. But till then, the ensuing speculation continues to drive excitement about Bitcoin and crypto.

DisClamier: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author's personal opinions and do not reflect The Crypto Basic opinion. Readers are encouraged to do thorough research before making any investment decisions. The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.

The partnership, which also includes crypto asset manager Anemoy, aims to streamline the issuance and management of tokenized assets across blockchains.

Centrifuge, a top real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platform, announced a partnership with blockchain interoperability protocol Wormhole to launch a multichain platform that aims to improve how tokenized assets are issued and managed, according to a press release shared with The Defiant.

The collaboration also includes Anemoy, a web3-native asset manager built on Centrifuge. The new platform, Centrifuge V3, lets asset managers and investors handle tokenized assets across different blockchains.

“Wormhole's multichain interoperability platform plays a crucial role in supporting the scalability of Centrifuge V3 by enabling full chain abstraction, allowing seamless fund administration and investment across any blockchain network,” Jeroen Offerijns, the CTO of Centrifuge, told The Defiant.

Offerijns added that by integrating Wormhole, Centrifuge ensures liquidity flows smoothly across different blockchains, while assets can be easily used within both decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and traditional institutional platforms.

Centrifuge currently boasts a total value locked (TVL) of around $136.6 million and a market capitalization of $5.7 million at press time, according to DeFiLlama data — making it the 15th largest RWA protocol by TVL.

The company has raised a total of $27 million across five funding rounds, raising $15 million in its most recent round, led by ParaFi and Greenfield.

Tackling tokenization challengesA major obstacle to the growth of tokenized assets is the fragmented infrastructure, Offerijns explained. He noted that asset managers often face a mix of tools and vendors, with no standardization, unclear legal structures, and high smart contract risks.

“Managing compliance, fund operations, issuance, and investor servicing onchain is still a daunting challenge,” Offerijns explained. “On top of that, chain fragmentation forces investors to navigate multiple networks, wallets, and interfaces — which adds unnecessary friction and risk to their experience.”

To address these issues, Centrifuge V3 offers customizable tokenization rails using a modular stack of pre-built, audited, and tested smart contracts. “These contracts cover everything from compliance to asset management, issuance, and day-to-day operations,” Offerijns said. “Managers can launch tokenized products quickly and confidently, without needing to build or audit new infrastructure.”

Moreover, all fund data and accounting will be managed on a single chain, offering unified and transparent data, which Offerijns called crucial for institutional reporting and governance, adding:

“Centrifuge V3 also integrates with liquidity providers in the ecosystem to offer instant and near-instant liquidity for tokenized products — addressing another key institutional concern: the ability to exit positions when needed."Jeroen OfferijnsThe future of RWAsTokenized assets are rapidly emerging as one of the fastest-growing sectors in DeFi. According to RWA.xyz, the total onchain value of tokenized RWAs has reached over $20 billion, an 11% increase in just the past month. Additionally, the number of asset holders has grown by almost 6%, bringing the total to 95,455 at press time.

“As the industry matures, we’re seeing a shift from purely crypto-native collateral to tokenized RWAs like U.S. Treasuries, private credit, and real estate — assets that provide stability, yield, and diversification,” Offerijns said, noting that stablecoins are also increasingly backed by RWAs.

He explained that RWA aggregators now function as onchain savings accounts, and lending protocols are facilitating borrowing and lending against these tokenized assets. “But for RWAs to truly power DeFi at scale, they must be accessible, high-quality, and ubiquitous,” Offerijns emphasized.

While Centrifuge V3 is currently building infrastructure that aims to make tokenized RWAs more accessible today, the company’s long-term vision extends beyond just putting funds on-chain.

“We believe blockchain won’t just serve as a distribution layer, it will become the foundation for global capital markets,” Offerijns said. “It will unlock cross-border capital flows, broaden access to investment opportunities, and improve end-to-end processes through automation and operational efficiencies.”