Arizona Advances Bills to Boost Bitcoin Reserves in State Treasury

Arizona has successfully passed both of its Bitcoin reserve bills through the House Rules Committee, potentially making it the first state to create a strategic digital asset reserve.

After a voting session on March 24, the bills were approved by the Arizona House Rules Committee and are now set to be voted on by the entire House.

The two proposals, SB 1373 and SB 1025, aim to establish reserves of digital assets but differ in their approach and funding sources.

SB 1373, the Strategic Digital Assets Reserve Bill, would authorize the state treasurer to oversee a fund made up of seized digital assets. Each year, up to 10% of the fund's value could be invested, and assets could also be loaned as long as the risk is not increased.

SB 1025, the Arizona Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act, focuses specifically on Bitcoin. It would allow the state treasury and retirement system to invest up to 10% of their available funds into Bitcoin. Furthermore, the bill includes a provision to store the Bitcoin in a secure, segregated federal reserve account.

If the bills are approved in the full House vote, they will then be sent to Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs for final approval.

According to a March 25 post by Bitcoin Laws, the bills have a good chance of passing in the House due to the Republican majority, but may encounter obstacles at the governor's desk.

Hobbs is known for vetoing Republican-led legislation and has rejected 22 percent of bills in 2024, which is the highest rate among U.S. governors.

As of March 25, data from Bitcoin Laws shows Arizona in the lead for establishing a state-backed Bitcoin reserve, with Oklahoma and Texas following closely behind.

On March 6, the Texas Senate approved SB-21, its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Bill, in a 25-5 vote. The bill will now be considered by the state House and then the governor's desk if it passes.

However, just days later, Democrat Representative Ron Reynolds introduced a separate proposal to limit the reserve size to $250 million in order to restrict the scale of the state's Bitcoin holdings.

Meanwhile, on March 25, Oklahoma's House passed its Bitcoin Reserve Bill (HB1203) with strong support in a 77-15 vote. The bill will now move on to the state Senate for further consideration.