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- Arizona Governor has officially signed a bill that authorises the Custodian to deposit unclaimed digital assets into a Bitcoin and Digital Asset Reserve Fund.
- Another bill could also be signed into law, mandating the state treasury to allocate 10% of the rainy-day fund into digital assets.
Arizona has made history as it becomes the second US state to establish a state-managed Bitcoin and Digital Asset Reserve Fund. Signed by Governor Katie Hobbs, House Bill 2749 would ensure that the fund strictly holds digital assets unclaimed by owners.
In other words, users who fail to respond to communication within three years would have their assets declared as abandoned. In this case, the state Custodian can stake them for rewards or airdrops.
Commenting on this, the bill’s sponsor, Jeff Weninger, asserted his confidence in the asset class, claiming Bitcoin is not the future, but the present.
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. We have built a structure that protects property rights, respects ownership and gives the state tools to account for a new category of value in the economy.
In January, New Hampshire became the first US state to establish a Bitcoin reserve fund. As outlined in our earlier discussion, the Bill 302 signed into law authorised the state treasury to allocate up to 5% of the public funds into Bitcoin and other digital assets.
Previous Bitcoin Bill Vetoed by the Governor
The Arizona Bitcoin and Digital Asset Reserve Fund establishment comes almost a week after Gov. Hobbs vetoed a bill that was supposed to enable the state to hold Bitcoin as part of its official reserves. Fascinatingly, the bill had passed the final vote in the State House on April 28 after 31 members voted for its approval. Explaining the reason for her decision, Hobbs highlighted that the Arizona retirement fund is not to be used on untested investments like virtual currency.
Today, I vetoed Senate Bill 1025. The Arizona State Retirement System is one of the strongest in the nation because it makes sound and informed investments.
Hobbs’ decision was, interestingly, not surprising as she had earlier declared her willingness to vote against any bill not supported by the bipartisan agreement on disability funding. This decision positioned Arizona in the same category as Oklahoma, Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming, which equally withdrew a similar bill.
Meanwhile, Arizona has another Bitcoin-related bill on the table. Our research shows that the Companion bill, Senate Bill 1373, would mandate the state treasury to allocate 10% of the rainy-day fund into digital assets.
According to Bitcoin Laws founder Julian Fahrer, signing the HB 2749 indicates that there is a higher possibility of Hobbs also signing the SB 1373. As previously discussed by CNF, the Arizona Senate Finance Committee had earlier approved a bill in January to permit public funds to be invested in Bitcoin.
Following this latest development, Bitcoin has surged by 2.6% in the last 24 hours to trade at $99k. According to our recent analysis, the asset could cross the $100k level and possibly breach its all-time high price.
