Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has signed House Bill 2749 into law, introducing provisions to allow the state to establish a digital assets stockpile. This makes Arizona the second state in the U.S. to create such a framework.
The bill, sponsored by House Commerce Committee Chairman Jeff Weninger, establishes a reserve fund for unclaimed digital assets if the owner fails to respond to communications over a three-year period. Qualified custodians can stake the reserve assets to earn rewards or receive airdrops, which can then be deposited into what Arizona has dubbed a Bitcoin and Digital Asset Reserve Fund.
“This law ensures Arizona doesn't leave value sitting on the table and puts us in a position to lead the country in how we secure, manage, and ultimately benefit from abandoned digital currency,” Weninger stated.
The signing comes shortly after Hobbs vetoed a separate bill, SB 1025, which would have allowed Arizona's treasury and retirement systems to invest up to 10% of their assets in cryptocurrencies.
In her veto message, the governor noted that Arizonans' retirement system is strong because it sticks to proven investment strategies. It's not appropriate to expose the state's retirement funds to untested investments like cryptocurrencies.
Several other states are considering similar legislation for strategic crypto reserves, but many have hit roadblocks. New Hampshire was the first to pass such a law, which President Donald Trump signed on May 6.
The New Hampshire bill, which authorizes the state treasurer to invest up to 5% of public funds in a digital asset that has at least $500 billion in market capitalization, and which Trump approved on May 6, is now being engrossed by the state House.
The state-level efforts come amid a push from Trump and Republican lawmakers to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve at the federal level. Trump signed an executive order in March authorizing the creation of the Bitcoin reserve and a separate Digital Asset stockpile.
