- Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill proposing a state Bitcoin reserve, citing concerns over using retirement funds for “untested” crypto investments.
- Several states, including Wyoming and Oklahoma, have rejected similar Bitcoin reserve proposals, while North Carolina advances a more limited digital assets bill.
- As the U.S. federal government considers a Bitcoin reserve, state-level crypto policies remain divided.
Arizona state will not hold Bitcoin (BTC) as official reserves after its governor, Katie Hobbs, disapproved the bill. The decision means Arizona won’t be the first us state to implement such a policy.
The proposed bill (known as the Digital Asset Strategic Bill 1025) suggested that Arizona use seized funds to purchase BTC and create a reserve. The bill added that state officials will be in charge of managing the reserve.
However, an update from the Arizona state legislature’s website revealed that the governor formally struck down the bill on Friday. In her statement to the state’s senate president, Warren Peterson, Hobbs wrote that she rejected the bill because the state’s retirement funds shouldn’t be used to try untested investments such as virtual currencies.
She added that Arizona rose to become the strongest in the United States because it has always made sound and informed investments. Earlier in the week, the state house passed a final vote on bill 1025 with 31 members voting in support while 25 opposed.
Mid-last month, Hobbs wrote on x that she won’t approve any legislation that isn’t related to the bipartisan agreement on disability funding.
Some States Rejected Similar Bitcoin Reserve Proposals
Meanwhile, there’s another Bitcoin-related bill awaiting a final vote in Arizona. Bill SB1373 aims to grant the state’s treasurer the authority to spend a maximum of 10% of Arizona’s rainy-day fund on cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin.
Besides Arizona, several States have disapproved similar proposals for a Bitcoin reserve. Over the past few months, Wyoming, Montana, Oklahoma, and South Dakota have either withdrawn or stalled similar proposals.
However, North Carolina’s house approved their digital assets investment act on April 30. This act now permits to state treasurer to spend a maximum of 5% of specified funds on approved digital assets. The bill is currently at the state’s senate, awaiting consideration.
With U.S. President Donald trump aiming to establish a Bitcoin reserve for the federal government, many states have had the inspiration to do the same. The leading cryptocurrency currently trades at $95,986, down nearly 1% in the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data.
