Welcome to issue #23 of The Bitcoin Act, where every Tuesday and Sunday we track the legal and regulatory moves that actually shape Bitcoin, cutting through noise, narratives, and theater.

Now for today’s top stories:

🏦 Fed Axes 'Reputation Risk' in Bank Oversight
The Federal Reserve proposes permanently removing “reputation risk” from bank supervision to end debanking of lawful businesses.

🏛️ Missouri Advances Bitcoin Strategic Reserve
Missouri’s House Bill 2080 would create a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Fund, letting the state treasurer accept donations and potentially buy Bitcoin for long-term holding in cold storage.

💭 Arizona Senate Moves Digital Assets Reserve Forward
Arizona’s SB 1649 would establish a Digital Assets Strategic Reserve Fund using seized Bitcoin to diversify state holdings and protect against inflation.

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The Federal Reserve has opened a 60-day public comment period on a proposal to permanently remove "reputation risk" from its bank supervisory framework. This codifies a policy shift started in June 2025, ensuring supervisory decisions focus only on material financial risks like credit, liquidity, and market exposure, not subjective non-financial factors. The change addresses widespread debanking concerns, where banks have terminated or denied services to lawful customers, including Bitcoin firms, often due to perceived reputational concerns or regulatory pressure (sometimes called "Operation Chokepoint 2.0"). Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman highlighted troubling cases of debanking over political views, religious beliefs, or involvement in disfavored but legal businesses like digital assets. Supporters, including Senator Cynthia Lummis, see it as ending unfair discrimination and boosting fair banking access for the Bitcoin industry. The Block

Missouri's House Bill 2080, introduced by Rep. Ben Keathley, would create a "Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Fund" allowing the state treasurer to acquire, hold, and manage Bitcoin. The fund could accept voluntary gifts, donations, or bequests of Bitcoin from Missouri residents and entities, and potentially use state funds to purchase more. Acquired Bitcoin must be stored securely in cold storage and held for at least five years without selling or transferring, after which the treasurer may act on it. The bill requires custody policies, possible third-party U.S.-based custodians, biennial public reporting for transparency, and bans foreign or illegal-linked transactions. This is the state's second attempt after a 2025 bill stalled in committee, HB 2080 has been referred to the House Commerce Committee awaiting hearing and vote. It aims to hedge against inflation, building on Missouri's prior full repeal of state capital gains taxes on crypto gains. Bitcoin Magazine

Arizona's Senate Bill 1649, sponsored by Sen. Mark Finchem, would establish a "Digital Assets Strategic Reserve Fund" using Bitcoin seized, confiscated, or surrendered to the state. The treasurer could hold, invest, and loan these assets via qualified custodians (banks, trust companies, or approved institutions) or SEC/CFTC-approved exchange-traded products. Eligible assets include Bitcoin, stablecoins, and NFTs, defined by meeting a "cryptocurrency fair value score" benchmark tied to Bitcoin's $100,000 milestone. The bill passed the Senate Finance Committee 4–2–1 on February 16, cleared the Rules Committee on February 23 (placed on consent calendar with Republican support), and now awaits a full Senate floor vote before moving to the House. This reworked approach addresses past vetoes by Gov. Katie Hobbs over volatility risks to state funds, focusing on forfeited assets to diversify reserves and hedge inflation without direct taxpayer money at stake. Decrypt

🇫🇷 Engie Eyes Bitcoin Mining in Brazil
French government-owned energy company Engie is considering installing bitcoin miners at its new solar plant in Brazil to boost profitability by monetizing wasted energy, viewing it as a long-term solution.

💵 Trump Explores Stablecoin for Gaza
Trump officials are exploring a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin for Gaza's postwar economy to enable digital payments amid disrupted banking, led by an adviser to the "Board of Peace".

💥 Binance Denies Firing Investigators
Binance denied firing internal investigators after they uncovered $1.7 billion in crypto flows to Iranian entities linked to terrorists, asserting no sanctions violations and compliance under reforms.

🇦🇺 Australian Police Charge Crypto Scammer
Australian police charged a 42-year-old man in a $3.5 million crypto investment scam targeting elderly victims, defrauding over 190 people via fake social media advisors.

🇫🇷 US Miner Acquires French Data Center
US bitcoin miner MARA Holdings bought 64% of French state-owned EDF subsidiary Exaion for $168M, under conditions requiring a 10% stake by French investor NJJ Capital.

💰 Bitcoin Bet on Trump Success
Wellington-Altus strategist James Thorne sees Bitcoin as a wager on Trump's economic reforms succeeding, versus gold betting on dollar debasement amid critical technical junctures.

🇫🇷 AMF Urges MiCA Compliance Cessation
France's AMF urges orderly cessation of activities for PSAN not compliant with MiCA by July 1, warning of imprisonment, fines, and blacklisting for incomplete applications.

🇫🇷 French Police Profile Crypto Kidnaps
A confidential French police note profiles crypto kidnapping victims, noting 40 cases since July 2023 mostly targeting young men in the sector amid rising aggressions.

📈 Jane Street Sued Over Terra Collapse
Terraform Labs sued Jane Street for front-running trades using insider info, allegedly profiting and accelerating the $40 billion UST/LUNA meltdown in May 2022. Altcoins manipulations again…

🇰🇷 South Korea Cracks Down Post-Bithumb
Lawmakers plan bank-like regulations on crypto exchanges after Bithumb's $40bn Bitcoin blunder, including reserves, multi-sig, and cooling periods for industry restructuring.

“Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual.” — Thomas Jefferson

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