Last year, Rep. Kevin McCabe of Big Lake introduced a bill that would recognize gold and silver as legal tender. It would also repeal local sales taxes on both. He introduced a similar bill this year.
Another state is already blazing ahead on the same front. Utah has recently made major legislative strides in integrating both precious metals and digital assets into its financial ecosystem. Two bills advanced by Republican congressmen offer templates of what can be accomplished in Alaska.
The first, House Bill 306, introduced by Rep. Ken Ivory, enables government vendors to be paid in gold and silver. If signed into law by Gov. Spencer Cox, the state treasurer will establish an electronic payment platform backed by these metals. It would be the first system of its kind in America.
“In uncertain economic times, Utah is providing vendors and service providers with the option to receive payment in gold and silver,” Ivory said in a news release. “This law gives Utahns an alternative to choose how they preserve the purchasing power of their earnings and savings.”
The second piece of legislation, shepherded by Rep. Jordan Teuscher, follows the same line of thinking with digital currency.
Under House Bill 230, Utah would invest roughly five percent of public funds in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. According to Tuescher, this would be a key step toward establishing crucial rights for those who own or mine digital currencies.
At present, there are 28 states that have entertained proposals to use public dollars to fund these currencies. Last year, Pennsylvania lawmakers attempted to advance a bill that would have created a strategic reserve for Bitcoin, the world’s largest digital asset. The legislation died during the committee review process.
The White House announced that it would also create a national crypto strategic reserve. Not without some concern, though. Joe Lonsdale, an entrepreneur in the digital finance space, tweeted that it would be “wrong to tax me for crypto bro schemes.”
Alaska Rep. Nick Begich has been at the forefront of bitcoin legislation on the national level. He and Sen. Cynthia Lummis introduced the BITCOIN Act of 2025, to set a national cryptocurrency policy, establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve to enhance America’s financial security, global competitiveness, and economic sovereignty.
Announced at the Bitcoin for America Summit, Congressman Begich’s bill recognizes the importance of Bitcoin as a strategic national asset. Congressman Begich said that the United States must take proactive measures to remain at the forefront of the financial revolution.
While there aren’t major pieces of legislation related to digital assets on the horizon in Alaska, the passage of McCabe’s bill would broaden the options available to consumers by converting gold and silver to legal tender, as opposed to just investment vehicles.
