Arizona Becomes the First U.S. State to Pass a Bitcoin Reserve Bill

Arizona moved a step closer to holding Bitcoin in its treasury on Monday after the House of Representatives passed two separate bills that would let the state adopt a BTC reserve.

Arizona House Passes Two Bills Allowing State to Hold Bitcoin in Treasury

Arizona came a step closer to holding bitcoin (BTC) in its treasury on Monday after the House of Representatives passed two separate bills that would let the state adopt a BTC reserve and invest in a basket of digital assets.

In a third House reading, Senate Bill 1025 (Arizona’s Bitcoin bill) passed with a 31-25 vote, and another bill, SB1373, passed with a 37-19 vote. This bill aims to establish a state-level reserve consisting of various digital assets, including bitcoin.

Both bills were originally passed by the Senate last month and will now return to the Senate for a final vote on Tuesday, April 28. Afterwards, they will go to Democratic Governor Katie Ann Hobbs’ desk to be signed into law.

Once this step is complete, Arizona will become the first U.S. state to invest in bitcoin in its treasury. A handful of other states have been debating similar bills.

Earlier this month, New Hampshire's House Bill 302 advanced to a full Senate vote after it passed the second Senate committee in a 4-1 vote.

The legislation, introduced in January and passed by the New Hampshire House in a 192-179 vote on April 4, would let the state place up to 10% of general funds in cryptocurrency and precious metals. It also sets a high bar for eligibility: only tokens with a market value above $500 billion qualify, a threshold only bitcoin meets today.

However, the bill has received mixed remarks. Democratic Representative Terry Spahr argued that the bill is not needed, and it could weaken the future security of the state’s digital assets. He noted that the treasurer already has authority over investments under existing law.

But supporters said exposure to bitcoin could improve returns. “The investments could net the state a large amount of money,” Republican Representative Jordan Ulery said.