The WIN Bill
A Change Is Coming To Wisconsin
I am excited to share that State Senator Dora Drake announced that she will be introducing “The WIN Bill.” The WIN bill, short for the Wisconsin Innovation Network bill, aims to increase technological innovation and provide cryptocurrency education for entrepreneurs as well as small businesses. The WIN Bill has been in the works since 2021, as I have mentioned in a past newsletter; the time is finally right to launch.
America is facinated with Bitcoin and strategic Bitcoin reserve bills are popping up everywhere across the country. While it’s cool for states and even the federal government to hold Bitcoin, what’s even cooler is developing a framework for growing the Bitcoin industry by supporting efforts around grants, institutional onboarding, citizen education, strategic sessions for business owners looking to integrate Bitcoin, and even job creation. This is what mass adoption looks like; it’s impact in real life.
While Wisconsin became the first state to hold Bitcoin in a state pension fund, even if in the form of an ETF, we wanted to double down and take it further with the WIN bill. we prepare to adovacate for Bitcoin as well as meet with additional state lawmakers to ensure that the WIN bill is truly bipartisan, we wanted to loop the community in first which is why we produced a press conference at Ambition Center MKE yesterday.
Along with this, Senator Drake had a panel talk with Dr. Nadiyah Johnson and I on topics of Bitcoin, AI, job creation, education, and community adovacy at large; the press conference and the panel talk was sponsored by TwentyOneSociety and the Milky Way Tech Hub. Community members and press came to engage with us.
Special shout out to filmmaker Montreal Cain who captured the panel discussion.
The WIN bill establishes a financial services program in the Department of Financial Institutions, also known as the DFI, to allow testing of innovative financial products or services with an amended licensing process for a short time horizon, roughly 24 months. The WIN bill also requires the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, also known as the WEDC, to conduct a pilot project with the following:
Education to Wisconsin citizens on digital assets, such as Bitcoin
Assistance for Wisconsin businesses in implementing cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin, as an accepted method of payment for goods and services
Guide founders in establishing or growing cryptocurrency-related businesses
Wisconsin can win together and on a global level when Wisconsin leverages emerging technologies such as Bitcoin. The WIN Bill takes it a step further and invites everyone, from business owner to institution alike, to win. The WIN bill incentivizes innovation. With that said, I want to invite you to review the bill as well as share insights or feedback. TwentyOneSociety launched TheWINBill.com so that anyone can watch a recap of the press conference as well as the panel talk, read or download the WIN bill, and even talk with the WIN AI Bot around topics of the bill. Along with that, Senator Drake, Dr. Nadiyah Johnson, and I will be among people at the Wisconsin state capital during Advocacy Day on Thursday, February 27, 2025, to meet with policymakers, lawmakers, and more regarding the WIN bill. What’s next is to ensure that the WIN bill is included in Wisconsin’s budget by May 2025. Once this happens, it’ll be official!
I am a digital nomad, but my hometown is Milwaukee. It’s deeply important to me to contribute to a framework that will benefit all people. Wisconsin, let’s WIN together.
— Christopher Perceptions of TwentyOneSociety and co-author of the WIN Bill in WI