Ohio Strategic Cryptocurrency Reserve Act

HB 18 is aimed at creating a statutory path for limited state exposure to digital assets through the Treasurer of State and, in related provisions, through exchange-traded products considered by state retirement systems. The introduced bill framed the measure as the “Ohio Strategic Cryptocurrency Reserve Act,” while later substitute-bill summaries describe the short title as the “Ohio Strategic Reserve Act.” Because the measure remains pending, the operative text should be checked against the latest committee substitute before publication or import.

The bill is not written as a general retail crypto framework. Instead, it focuses on government funds, public investment authority, custody controls, and investment vehicles. In the introduced version, “digital asset” was defined broadly to include virtual currency, cryptocurrency, native electronic assets, stablecoins, non-fungible tokens, and other electronically native assets that confer economic, proprietary, access, or governance rights.

• Ohio Strategic Reserve Fund: Substitute-bill summaries describe the creation of an Ohio Strategic Reserve Fund in the custody of the Treasurer of State, but outside the state treasury.
• Treasurer investment authority: Current public summaries state that HB 18 would permit the Treasurer to invest interest earnings from certain state funds in digital assets.
• Investment limits: The introduced bill included a 10% aggregate cap, measured by fund at the time of investment, for qualifying digital-asset investments.
• Eligible assets and products: The introduced bill tied eligibility to exchange-traded products and a large-market-cap test, including a $750 billion average market-capitalization threshold over the preceding 12 months.
• Custody standards: The introduced text required secure custody, a qualified custodian, or exposure through an exchange-traded product issued by a registered investment company.
• Retirement systems: HB 18 also addresses state retirement-system investment in exchange-traded products, while preserving board fiduciary duties under existing retirement statutes.

HB 18 was introduced in the Ohio House during the 136th General Assembly by Rep. Steve Demetriou, with listed co-sponsors including Representatives Fischer, Johnson, King, Lorenz, T. Mathews, and Williams. It was referred to the House Technology and Innovation Committee on January 28, 2025. Committee materials later identified a substitute bill during a May 27, 2025 hearing, and legislative tracking materials listed the bill as amended on October 7, 2025. A fifth committee hearing was listed for October 14, 2025.

Available public records reviewed for this profile did not show a House floor vote, Senate passage, enactment, or governor signature. A LegiScan vote page reported no roll-call record on file, and state retirement-system legislative materials reviewed in May 2026 still described HB 18 by its House committee status. The recommended canonical Crypto Laws status is therefore “In committee,” and the recommended law type is “Bill.”

If enacted, HB 18 would make Ohio one of the U.S. states considering a formal public-sector digital-asset reserve structure. Its practical effect would depend on final bill language, available investable funds, Treasurer discretion, custody arrangements, rulemaking, and any later amendments adopted by the General Assembly. Editors should avoid treating the bill as operative law unless and until the Ohio Legislature records final passage and enactment.