Bitcoin could soon find a place on state balance sheets, with Alabama and Minnesota both pressing ahead with legislative frameworks for state Bitcoin reserves.

In Minnesota, House File 2946, also called the Minnesota Bitcoin Act, introduced by Rep. B. Olson (R-MN) on Tuesday, would allow the state to invest in Bitcoin directly. Its Senate counterpart, SF 2661, was introduced earlier in March.

The identical bills seek to authorize the State Board of Investment to allocate public funds into Bitcoin, marking a direct acknowledgment of the digital asset’s long-term financial potential.

Meanwhile in Alabama, Senate Bill 283, filed this week by Sen. April Weaver (R-AL)is a companion to House Bill 482, introduced earlier in March.

Though neither bill explicitly names Bitcoin, the legislation limits eligibility to digital assets with a market capitalization of at least $750 billion.

Currently, only Bitcoin meets that threshold, effectively making it the sole qualifying asset under the proposed framework.

If the proposals pass, they would take effect on October 1, 2025 in Alabama and January 1, 2026 in Minnesota.

Both states are embracing a legislative tactic commonly used to fast-track approval: introducing identical bills in both chambers.

HF 2946/SF 2661 would allow the state to not only invest in Bitcoin but also accept it for tax payments and government transactions.

The bill amends more than a dozen statutes to incorporate crypto, including tax codes, pension plans, and investment rules.

The Alabama legislation also outlines digital assets must be held directly by the treasurer, by a qualified custodian, or via exchange-traded products, and cannot exceed 10% of any state fund.

U.S. state Bitcoin reserve proposals

The proposals follow a wider trend of state-level efforts across the U.S. to explore the world’s largest crypto as a strategic reserve asset.

While some states, including Wyoming, Montana, and Pennsylvania, have recently paused or withdrawn their Bitcoin reserve plans, the momentum remains strong elsewhere.

South Carolina recently introduced a bill to allow its treasurer to allocate up to 10% of certain state funds into digital assets—starting with Bitcoin.

Oklahoma’s House Bill 1203, which allows for crypto asset reserves, passed overwhelmingly and is pending Senate review. Texas passed Senate Bill 21 to establish a Bitcoin strategic reserve and is awaiting gubernatorial approval.

Arizona and Utah have introduced their own frameworks, although Utah’s reserve language was dropped during revisions.

Bitcoin reserve tracker Bitcoin Law’s data shows that 47 state-level Bitcoin reserve bills have been introduced in 26 states, 41 of which are currently live.

Sentiment around the passing of a state Bitcoin reserve proposal appears to have turned negative, however. Users of MYRIAD, the decentralized prediction market launched by Decrypt’s parent company DASTAN, overwhelmingly predicted that no state would implement such a reserve, in a market that closed at the end of March.

In February, North Korean hackers broke headlines with what is now regarded as the largest single hack in crypto history.

The Lazarus Group stole at least $1.4 billion from Bybit and later funneled those funds to crypto mixers.

“Someone had pulled off the biggest hack in [crypto] history, and we had a front-row seat,” Samczsun, Research Partner at Paradigm, recalled in a blog post.

The researcher said they witnessed the theft in real-time and collaborated with Bybit to confirm the unauthorized access.

Samczsun was working with SEAL 911, an emergency response unit affiliated with the Security Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to securing decentralized systems.

But these attacks aren’t all just about the Lazarus Group. There’s more to North Korea’s cyber offensives than previously thought.

There’s a misconception about how to “classify and name” the group’s operations.

While the term “Lazarus Group” is “colloquially acceptable,” discussing how the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) runs its cyber operations on the offensive needs more rigor, Samczsun claimed.

Lazarus Group has become the preferred term by the media when describing DPRK cyberactivity. Cybersecurity researchers “created more precise designations” to show which ones are working on specific activities, they added.

A hacking bureau

The DPRK’s hacking ecosystem operates under the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB), which houses several distinct groups: AppleJeus, APT38, DangerousPassword, and TraderTraito

These groups operate with specific targeting methodologies and technical capabilities.

TraderTraitor, identified as the most sophisticated DPRK actor targeting the crypto industry, focuses on exchanges with large reserves and employs advanced techniques, successfully compromising Axie Infinity through fake job offers and manipulating WazirX.

AppleJeus specializes in complex supply chain attacks, including the 2023 3CX hack that potentially affected 12 million users.

Dangerous Password, meanwhile, conducts lower-end social engineering through phishing emails and malicious messaging on platforms like Telegram.

Another subgroup, APT38, spun out of Lazarus in 2016 and focused on financial crimes. It first targeted traditional banks before shifting attention to crypto platforms.

In 2018, the OFAC first mentioned “North Korean IT workers,” which in 2023 were identified by researchers as “Contagious Interview” and “Wagemole,” operating through schemes where the threat actors either pose as recruiters or attempt to get hired by target companies.

There’s still hope

While the DPRK has shown its ability to deploy zero-day attacks, there have been “no recorded or known incidents” of it deploying directly against the crypto industry, Samczsun said.

The researcher urged crypto companies to implement basic security practices such as least privilege access, two-factor authentication, and device segregation. If preventive measures fail, connecting with security groups like SEAL 911 and the FBI’s DPRK unit would also be helpful.

“DPRK hackers are an ever-growing threat against our industry, and we can’t defeat an enemy that we don’t know or understand,” Samczsun wrote.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

Why did Joseph Maldonado-Passage, better known as Joe Exotic from the viral Netflix docuseries “Tiger King,” debut a meme coin on Solana from prison earlier this week?

“I’m knee-deep in lawyer bills,” he told Decrypt in an interview, claiming the endeavor will also benefit children through donations to a nonprofit called Operation Smile.

The 62-year-old, who has lived behind bars for seven years, didn’t launch the meme coin himself. Instead, he said his lawyers helped him get “Official Tiger King” off the ground, which began trading under the ticker name EXOTIC on Monday.

Most celebrity meme coins end up as flash in the pan. Their value often hinges on people’s attention, which can fade quickly. Others end up marred by allegations of insider trading. Exotic said he’s hopeful that his token doesn’t end up becoming yet another example.

“I pray to god that they don’t rug it and ruin my reputation,” the former wildlife park owner said. “I’m hoping that people will see this is legit and it has a purpose.”

Celebrity meme coins, while nothing new, reached a boiling point last year, with names like Caitlyn Jenner, Jason Derulo, and Cardi B stepping into the space. Hailey Welch, also known as “Hawk Tuah girl,” was among those that got caught flat-footed. Her coin, dubbed HAWK, became a fiasco after it imploded. A spokesperson told Decrypt she “had zero control over it.”

EXOTIC debuted on a little-known launchpad called pumpkin.fun. The meme coin’s market cap initially surged to $900,000 but has since fallen to just over $100,000, according to the crypto data provider GeckoTerminal. It has less than 900 holders in total, per blockchain data.

The website for Exotic’s meme coin does not reference the project’s goal of contributing funds to Operation Smile. However, it does say tokens will be donated to a “foundation supporting tigers or animal health” upon his release from prison. On Friday, Exotic’s account on X, formerly known as Twitter, said it had already donated $1,000 to the nonprofit.

Exotic says his lawyers got behind the idea of launching a meme coin as a way to showcase his commitment to charitable work. That’s a reason for him to be free, he said, as opposed to “sitting in here, watching people do drugs all day.”

Project Smiles and Exotic’s lawyers did not respond to requests for comment from Decrypt.

Exotic is currently being held at FMC Fort Worth, an administrative security center, according to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons He routinely uses the telephone to connect with the outside world, keeping fans up-to-date via podcasts and X Spaces.

When it comes to crypto, Exotic has been able to absorb a lot, even learning from other inmates. While familiar with key terms, his real-word experience is admittedly limited.

“There’s not a lot to do all day besides sit and talk to people who know shit,” he said. “I do a lot from here, but I don’t even know how to set up a wallet.”

In 2021, Joe Exotic was resentenced to 21 years in federal prison, per the Associated Press. He was convicted of a murder-for-hire scheme against animal welfare activist Carole Baskin, killing five tigers, selling tiger cubs, and falsifying wildlife records.

Exotic maintains his innocence, while also pressing U.S. President Donald Trump for a pardon on social media.

In 2021, an unofficial meme coin called “Tiger King Coin” was launched as well. Exotic said he was entitled to receive 1% of its supply, but never found out who was behind the project. He fears that coin may influence people’s perceptions of the one that just launched. 

Operation Smile, founded in 1982, provides cleft lip and palate repair surgeries for children across the world. Exotic hopes his meme coin can ultimately help that initiative moving forward.

“People really need to invest in it,” he said. “I would like to be able to get it up there to where I can fix 500 kids’ [faces] and pay my lawyer bills.”

Edited by Andrew Hayward