Arizona House passes bill to create crypto reserve from seized assets

Arizona lawmakers have passed House Bill 2324, which would establish a state-managed crypto reserve fund sourced from seized digital assets. Following a June 24 voting session, Arizona’s House of Representatives approved the bill in a 34-22 vote . The legislation cleared the state Senate on June 20 by a narrow 16-14 margin. Lawmakers had to revive HB 2324 through a series of procedural motions after it failed to clear the House on May 7. Republican Senator Janae Shamp, who initially opposed the bill, moved to have it reconsidered in the Senate, paving the way for its eventual return to the House and final approval. House Bill 2324 now heads to Governor Katie Hobbs, whose approval would enact the bill into law. While Hobbs has signed certain crypto-related measures this year, her stance on exposing state resources to cryptocurrency markets has been cautious. What is House Bill 2324? For those unaware, HB 2324 would establish a “Bitcoin and Digital Assets Reserve Fund” managed by the state treasurer. The fund would be exclusively financed through digital assets seized in criminal investigations, including Bitcoin, stablecoins, and other virtual currencies. It does this by updating Arizona’s forfeiture laws to explicitly include digital assets and outlining procedures for seizure, custody, and liquidation. Under the proposed allocation structure, the first $300,000 from forfeited digital assets would be directed to the Attorney General’s office. Additional proceeds would be split between the Attorney General, the state general fund, and the newly created reserve. The bill also includes provisions to protect innocent property owners and imposes limits on when other assets, such as vehicles, may be seized in connection with digital crimes. HB 2324 is the second major cryptocurrency-related measure to advance in Arizona this year. In May, Governor Hobbs signed House Bill 2749 into law, authorising the state to take custody of unclaimed digital assets, such as inactive crypto wallets, after a three-year dormancy period. HB 2749 also established a reserve fund managed by the treasurer, though its funding comes from unclaimed assets rather than criminal forfeiture. It permits the state to stake these assets or accept airdrops, with all proceeds directed into the fund and no taxpayer exposure. Unlike HB 2324, HB 2749 is purely administrative, focusing on property that the state already controls by statute. No state Bitcoin investments Neither of these bills authorizes Arizona to directly invest taxpayer money or treasury funds into Bitcoin or other digital assets. However, such a proposal was made earlier this year in Senate Bill 1025, the Arizona Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act, which would have allowed up to 10% of public funds to be allocated to Bitcoin. Governor Hobbs rejected SB 1025 over concerns about exposing public funds to crypto market volatility. A companion bill, SB 1373, which proposed creating a state-run reserve using seized assets and appropriations, was also blocked at the time. The post Arizona House passes bill to create crypto reserve from seized assets appeared first on Invezz

Source: Invezz