Thomas Daniels
Arizona’s Strategic Digital Assets Reserve Bill (SB 1373) is poised for a crucial final vote after gaining approval from the House Committee of the Whole on April 17. The bill, which allows the establishment of a Digital Assets Strategic Reserve Fund, would empower the state’s treasurer to manage digital assets seized through criminal proceedings.
Under SB 1373, Arizona’s treasurer would be authorized to invest up to 10% of the fund’s total value annually into digital assets and to loan assets to enhance returns, provided that such actions do not materially increase financial risk.
Despite the bill’s progress, its future remains uncertain. Governor Katie Hobbs has recently pledged to veto all pending legislation until the Arizona legislature addresses disability funding, raising concerns about the bill’s survival. Hobbs has already vetoed 15 bills this week alone, signaling a potentially hostile environment for new legislative efforts.
Julian Fahrer, founder of Bitcoin Laws and CEO of Apollo, expressed cautious optimism in a statement to Cointelegraph. He believes that SB 1373 will likely pass the House but anticipates it may merge with another digital assets proposal, SB 1062, which seeks to broaden the definition of legal tender to include cryptocurrencies.
Arizona has positioned itself at the forefront of the state-level Bitcoin reserve movement, progressing not only with SB 1373 but also with the Arizona Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act (SB 1025). The latter bill, which exclusively pertains to Bitcoin, proposes that Arizona’s treasury and state retirement system invest up to 10% of their available funds in Bitcoin. SB 1025 also cleared the House Committee of the Whole earlier this month and now awaits a full floor vote.
While Arizona has demonstrated the most momentum, other states are also pursuing similar initiatives. Utah passed Bitcoin-related legislation on March 7 but removed its reserve provision before final approval. Texas’ Senate approved a Bitcoin reserve bill on March 6, and a comparable bill passed through New Hampshire’s House.
Although Arizona leads in legislative progress, Fahrer notes that Texas’ Bitcoin bill faces fewer legislative obstacles and may have the strongest chance of becoming law.
