Testimony on HB 4510 and HB 4511 — Elizabeth Hansson, Stand With Crypto (November 6, 2025)

Summary

Testimony in support of Michigan House Bill 4510 and House Bill 4511 to the Economic Competitiveness Committee, November 6, 2025, submitted by Elizabeth Hansson, Michigan President of Stand With Crypto. The testimony describes House Bill 4510 as a bill allowing investment in digital assets by certain retirement funds, with a minimum market capitalization floor of $250 billion dollars and a cap of 5% of fund assets. It describes House Bill 4511 as protecting the right to hold digital assets, prohibiting an additional tax or charge based solely on using a digital asset as payment, and preventing government prohibitions on running a node, transferring digital assets and staking. It asks for a yes vote on both bills.

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MICHIGAN HOUSE BILL 4510, “INVESTMENT IN CRYPTOCURRENCY BY CERTAIN
RETIREMENT FUNDS”​
MICHIGAN HOUSE BILL 4511, “CRYPTO BILL OF RIGHTS”

Economic Competitiveness Committee, November 6, 2025

​
Submitted by: ​Elizabeth Hansson​
​      ​       Michigan President, Stand With Crypto​
​      ​       Founder, Detroit Blockchain Collective



Good morning Chair Hoadley, Vice Chair Bohnak, Vice Chair Grant, and members of the
Committee.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of House Bill 4510, a bill to allow investment in
digital assets by certain retirement funds, and House Bill 4511, a bill aimed at protecting the
holding and operation of digital assets within the state of Michigan.

My name is Elizabeth Hansson, I am a proud Michigander and a graduate of the University of
Michigan–Ann Arbor. I began my career in our automotive industry, as a software engineer at
Chrysler. I continued as an engineer and in management within our automotive sector, until I
entered the digital asset industry in 2016, where I served for eight years as CTO of a
decentralized finance, or DeFi, company.

I now serve as the Michigan President for Stand With Crypto, a nonpartisan, non-profit
organization with 2.6 million advocates nationwide, and I oversee more than 54,000 Stand With
Crypto advocates right here in Michigan. I also founded the Detroit Blockchain Collective, the
state’s largest and most active blockchain community group. I collaborate with student
blockchain groups at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Wayne State
University to connect students and builders to Michigan’s tech ecosystem. Today, I am here
representing the interests of more than 1.2 million Michiganders who own cryptocurrency.

House Bill 4510 gives Michigan’s pension fiduciaries a regulated, optional tool they already
understand. It permits, but does not require, consideration of digital assets through exchange
traded products issued by registered investment companies.

It fits within existing fiduciary practice, reporting, and audit standards that pensions already use
for commodities and other alternative assets. It also sets two important guardrails. First, any
eligible digital asset must meet a minimum market capitalization floor of $250 billion dollars.
Second, total exposure to digital assets as an asset class is capped at 5% of fund assets.
These limits keep decisions prudent, diversified, and aligned with long-dated obligations.
“Why now?” is straightforward. Michigan is already participating through regulated vehicles. The
State of Michigan Retirement System disclosed a spot Bitcoin ETF position in 2024 and has
since added to that exposure in 2025. Michigan has also disclosed Ethereum exposure via
exchange traded products. Public filings and trade press that covered those disclosures noted
that Michigan was among the first public pension systems to report a position in a spot
Ethereum product.

This bill acknowledges that reality by giving fiduciaries a clear statutory framework to size,
monitor, and report these positions using familiar tools and qualified custodians.

We are not acting alone. States are building measured frameworks that respect fiduciary duty.
New Hampshire enacted a first-in-the-nation reserve law that allows up to 5 percent of public
funds in digital assets that meet a high market cap threshold, implemented either through
secure custody or an exchange traded product. Texas established a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
by statute and set forth custody, reporting, and market cap requirements. Arizona enacted a law
that modernizes unclaimed property for digital assets and creates a Bitcoin and digital assets
Reserve Fund. These peer examples show how states can participate responsibly with clear
limits and public reporting.

I understand concerns about volatility. This bill does not require an allocation, and it does not
change any board’s investment policy. It simply allows a board, acting as a fiduciary, to consider
a small, liquid position through regulated products that can be rebalanced or exited like any
other exchange traded holding.

The benefits are practical. This alignment puts statute in step with what Michigan has already
done through regulated ETFs. It gives fiduciaries a narrow, familiar pathway to hedge inflation
risk and diversify return sources, if and when the data supports it.

House Bill 4510 is modest and careful. It is a permission structure with hard limits. It adds a
market cap floor and a 5% asset class cap. It preserves fiduciary duty and all existing oversight.
I respectfully ask for a yes vote to give Michigan pension fiduciaries a safe, optional tool to
protect beneficiaries and keep our state at the forefront of responsible financial innovation.



I would now like to speak on House Bill 4511.
House Bill 4511 protects the right of Michiganders to hold and use digital assets, enables lawful
peer to peer payments without extra charges, and provides clear, uniform rules that support jobs
and innovation while keeping all criminal and consumer protection laws fully in force.
In my work with software developers, entrepreneurs, and University students, I have seen how
clear rules make the difference between building in Michigan or going to neighboring states like
Ohio.
Today, Michigan law is silent about the most basic parts of blockchain and digital assets. Such
as the right to hold a digital asset, build on blockchain, or to pay for a lawful good with a digital
asset like Bitcoin. This bill addresses those gaps so Michigan can become a leader in this
technology.
I believe the three most important provisions in this bill are as follows:
Foremost, it protects the right to hold digital assets such as Bitcoin or stablecoins. This provides
for clear digital property rights and to own your own digital assets like you would keep cash in
your wallets. This protection is expressly subject to the Michigan penal code, so fraud and other
crimes remain fully prohibited.
Additionally, this bill empowers Michiganders and small businesses to accept digital assets as a
method of payment. The bill prohibits any additional tax, withholding, assessment, or charge
that is based solely on using a digital asset as the method of payment. It does not change
standard taxes that would otherwise apply if the same transaction took place in United States
legal tender. Although this may sound new to some, many large payment companies such as
PayPal and Mastercard are utilizing stablecoins, or digital assets backed by dollars, to make
payments faster and cheaper today. Other companies like Square are allowing millions of small
businesses to elect to receive payment in Bitcoin.
Finally, it allows open participation and software development in blockchain networks. The bill
prevents government prohibitions on three basic activities. Running a node, also known as a
specialized computer, to connect to a Blockchain Protocol. Transferring digital assets on a
Blockchain Protocol. Participating in Staking on a Blockchain Protocol also known as making
sure the results on a blockchain are valid. These are key basic protections that ensure
blockchains are useful to Michiganders and they can benefit from participating in them.
I have seen firsthand how Michiganders use Blockchain to build businesses, create jobs, and
strengthen communities. Our universities are graduating talent that wants to stay here if the
rules are clear. House Bill 4511 is balanced and puts Michiganders first.
I respectfully ask for a yes vote to advance the bill and keep Michigan competitive for builders,
students, and small businesses who want to build the future of blockchain here.


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