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Arizona is set to vote on two proposed bills aimed at creating digital asset reserves using assets seized during criminal proceedings and a Bitcoin reserve funded by public money from the state's treasury and retirement system.
On March 24, the Arizona House Rules Committee approved these two strategic digital asset reserve bills, which are now headed to the House floor for a full vote.
If passed, these bills would allow Arizona to create reserves consisting of digital assets seized from criminal activities, alongside new public investments.
The Republican majority in the Arizona House of Representatives (33-27) gives the bills a strong chance of passing.
However, the final challenge could come from the state’s Democratic Governor, Katie Hobbs, who has previously vetoed a significant number of bills, including 22% of those in 2024—the highest veto rate among state governors.
Arizona’s Two Crypto Bills
Arizona has two crypto-related bills that recently gained approval from the House Rules Committee. The first, the Strategic Digital Assets Reserve Bill (SB 1373), aims to create a reserve of digital assets acquired through criminal cases. These assets would be managed by the state treasurer, who is restricted to investing no more than 10% of the reserve’s total value in any given fiscal year. However, the treasurer is allowed to loan out these assets to potentially boost returns, as long as doing so doesn't introduce additional financial risks.
The second bill, the Arizona Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act (SB 1025), is focused specifically deals with Bitcoin. It would permit the state's Treasury and its retirement system to allocate up to 10% of their available funds to Bitcoin investments. Moreover, SB 1025 provides for the possibility of storing this Bitcoin reserve in a secure, segregated account within a federal Bitcoin reserve, should such an institution be established.
Arizona is currently at the forefront of creating a state-backed digital asset reserve, but other states are quickly catching up.
On March 6, the Texas Senate passed the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Bill (SB-21) with a 25-5 vote. The bill still needs to pass the House and receive the governor’s signature. A new bill by Democratic Representative Ron Reynolds has since been introduced to cap the previously unlimited reserve at $250 million.
Utah also passed Bitcoin legislation, although references to a strategic reserve were removed at the last minute.
Additionally, on March 25, the Oklahoma House passed its Bitcoin Reserve Bill (HB1203) with a 77-15 vote, and it is now headed to the state senate.