Bitcoin literacy and community growth are accelerating in West Virginia, and it’s starting to reshape how communities across the state engage with digital finance. What was once viewed as a niche interest among tech enthusiasts is now gaining traction across broader segments of the state’s population. As residents become more curious about digital assets, conversations are shifting from speculation to understanding how BTC works and what it could mean for personal and regional economic resilience.

Bitcoin As A Tool For Regional Economic Growth

West Virginia has been making headlines in the Bitcoin space recently, particularly with fresh legislative moves as of January 2026. MartyParty revealed on X that the biggest current development is Senator Bill 143 (SB143), which was introduced this week by State Senator Chris Rose.

This is officially titled the Inflation Protection Act of 2026, which would allow the state’s Board of Treasury Investment to allocate up to 10% of public funds into precious metals like gold, silver, and platinum. The bill requires any qualifying digital asset to have maintained an average market capitalization of at least $750 billion over the prior year, which qualifies only BTC. In addition, the bill also allows for regulated stablecoins, but only the US federal or state regulators can approve the assets.

However, the bill frames this as a hedge against inflation and currency depreciation, and empowering the state treasurer to invest in BTC without directly naming it in most of the statute. Although the purpose section explicitly mentions empowering investment in gold, silver, and BTC. These assets would need to be made through qualified custodians, ETFs, or other secure frameworks.

What Pension Funds And Endowments Think About Bitcoin

The Bitcoin price prediction by funds indicates a bullish outlook for 2026. CryptoRank.io has mentioned that the institutional analysts are pricing in a bullish scenario for BTC in 2026. The average target across the forecasts shown is around $150,000 per BTC, implying roughly 75% upside from current levels.

At the same time, longer-term valuation models assume a more gradual growth path. Popular asset manager VanEck predicts BTC could reach approximately $2.9 million by 2050, which equates to around 15% annualized growth broadly in line with the BTC historical long-term performance as a macro asset.

In contrast to institutional forecasts, prediction markets maintain a more conservative outlook. On Polymarket, the pricing base-case range between $110,000 to $130,000. This consensus could shift toward the institutional targets if spot ETF inflows remain strong and if the US regulatory uncertainty continues to decline, including initiatives such as the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act.

In a major new development for the crypto industry, Senators Ron Wyden and Cynthia Lummis announced on Monday evening the introduction of a bipartisan, standalone version of the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA). 

This legislation aims to provide much-needed clarity for software developers and infrastructure providers in the blockchain space, particularly concerning their classification under federal law.

New Crypto Bill To Protect Blockchain Developers 

According to the detailed press release regarding the matter, the BRCA specifies that developers and providers who do not have control over user funds will not be classified as money transmitters. Senator Lummis highlighted the ongoing challenges faced by blockchain developers, stating: 

Blockchain developers who have simply written code and maintain open-source infrastructure have lived under threat of being classified as money transmitters for far too long. This designation makes no sense when they never touch, control, or have access to user funds, and unnecessarily limits innovation. 

Lummis emphasized that the bill provides developers with the clarity needed to advance digital finance without the fear of legal repercussions for activities that do not pose a money laundering risk. Lummis added, “It’s time to stop treating software developers like banks simply because they write code.”

Senator Wyden echoed these concerns, arguing that imposing the same regulatory requirements on developers as those applied to exchanges or brokers is fundamentally flawed. 

Main Highlights Of The BRCA

The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act aims to set clear federal standards defining when blockchain developers and service providers can be exempt from money transmitter regulations. 

Under current legislation toward crypto, the Senators assert blockchain developers face regulatory ambiguities that have not only stifled innovation but also driven many projects offshore, as they navigate conflicting regulations across different states.

The bill specifically establishes that a “non-controlling developer or provider” refers to any entity that develops or maintains distributed ledger technology but does not possess the unilateral authority to initiate or execute transactions involving users’ digital assets without third-party consent.

In addition, the crypto bill clarifies protected activities, including the development or publication of software for distributed ledgers, maintenance services for blockchain networks, offering customer self-custody solutions, and providing necessary infrastructure to support distributed ledger services. 

Importantly, while the bill allows states to enforce their laws consistent with federal regulations, it also prevents them from imposing money transmitter requirements on developers engaged solely in the specified protected activities.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com