The state of Arizona has moved a step closer to setting up a bitcoin reserve fund after the Senate voted in favor of the proposed legislation. Following a 16-14 vote on Thursday, House Bill 2324 has been sent back to the House for a final decision.
The bill seeks to update Arizona's forfeiture laws, allowing the state to categorize abandoned digital assets as unclaimed property. Additionally, it establishes a reserve fund for managing the forfeited digital assets. This development follows the enactment of House Bill 2749 in April, which integrated digital assets into the state's unclaimed property framework. The proposed legislation differs from Senate Bill 1025, which suggested investing seized funds in bitcoin.
Although that bill was vetoed by Governor Katie Hobbs, who expressed concerns about cryptocurrency being an 'untested investment,' Arizona is now one step closer to joining New Hampshire as the only states to have completed the legislative process for creating a bitcoin reserve. A similar bill is also nearing completion in Texas.