Arizona Passes 2 Crypto Reserve Bills And Is On Track To Being First US State To Adopt Bitcoin

The state of Arizona took a major step toward Bitcoin adoption, passing two bills that enable the investment of public funds in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. The move would mean that Arizona would become the first US state to adopt a Bitcoin reserve. Arizona could invest in Bitcoin or other types of digital assets, such as NFTs. Lawmakers in the House of Representatives passed two bills, including Senate Bill 1025 and Senate Bill 1373, which would allow Arizona to allocate 10% of its treasury and pension funds into Bitcoin and other digital assets. The Senate Bill 1025 focused on Bitcoin as an investment asset, while Senate Bill 1373 focused on other digital assets. Both bills concentrate on establishing a framework for investing public funds in cryptocurrencies. Arizona has been very busy about crypto legislation, pushing a bill in March to include Bitcoin ETFs in government pension portfolios and another bill to protect Bitcoin miners. Bill 1025 defines how the government allocates their funds, such as from pensions and treasuries. The bill further suggested that the crypto funds could be stored in a separate account under the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve. Bill 1024 amends Arizona law to allow the state to invest up to 10% of its public funds in digital assets. Bill 1373, however, focuses on what the state can do with seized cryptocurrencies that have been confiscated by law enforcement. The bill states that such funds do not expire after one year, which is the usual expiration date for seized assets, but they can still be seized. Instead, Bill 1373 allows the State Treasury to take possession of the funds through a new custody process. Arizona manages a substantial amount of public funds, amounting to around $30 billion, which means that a 10% allocation would allow the state government to allocate roughly $3 billion to cryptocurrencies. The bills state that digital assets must be managed with quality procedures that keep the assets secure. The management of a crypto portfolio would inherit all of the risk management procedures used with other public portfolios. Other states, meanwhile, have been developing crypto legislation. Utah passed Bitcoin legislation in March, but removed key sections that enabled a Bitcoin reserve in the final revisions. Texas also developed crypto legislation in March. Texas has received less resistance to its Bitcoin legislation, increasing the probability that it will pass crypto laws at the state level. However, Arizona remains the leader in the race with its latest developments.

Source: ZyCrypto