On Jan. 14, Arizona Sen. Wendy Rogers [R-District 7] and Arizona Rep. Jeff Weninger [R-District 17] introduced Senate Bill 1025, the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act, which passed out of the Arizona State Senate Finance Committee on Jan. 27 by a 5-2 vote.
SB 1025 would allow the state treasurer, the Arizona Retirement System and the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System to invest up to 10% of the public monies under their control in cryptocurrency.
“Since 2018, the value of the dollar held by the state has declined by roughly 25%and the Inflation Protection Act allows for a diverse set of investment tools for state fiduciaries to counter inflation’s effects and bolster the state’s financial security,” Rogers said before the committee. “This legislation empowers state treasurers and pension funds to diversify investments by incorporating assets that preserve purchasing power, such as bitcoin, which is a proven hedge against inflation and default risk.”
The bill will now be considered by the Senate Rules Committee for debate and amendments before votes by the full Senate and House of Representatives. If it passes, Arizona would become the first state in the nation to create a bitcoin reserve, although 15 other states were also considering such legislation as of Jan. 31.
Legislative District 1 representatives Selina Bliss [R] and Quang Nguyen [R] had not taken a position on SB1025 as of Jan. 29; state Sen. Mark Finchem [R], who also represents the Verde Valley, subsequently expressed support for the bill on Wednesday, Feb. 5 to Larson Newspapers.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology” on Jan. 23, which created a digital asset working group. “The working group shall evaluate the potential creation and maintenance of a national digital asset stockpile and propose criteria for establishing such a stockpile, potentially derived from cryptocurrencies lawfully seized by the federal government through its law enforcement efforts,” the order states.
According to Forbes, the United States currently holds more than 200,000 bitcoin worth about $21 billion, seized through law enforcement action. The reserve would allow governments to hold the assets, rather than incrementally selling them.
The price of bitcoin fell below $100,000 on Feb. 3, following news that Trump’s tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico would go into effect on Feb. 8, but had risen to $101,000 by press time, Monday, Feb. 3. The price is up from $43,004 on Feb. 3, 2024.
