Arizona has taken yet another huge step toward potentially adopting Bitcoin. The state legislature has officially passed two bills that would see Arizona hold Bitcoin as part of its treasury reserves.
In a vote of 31-25, Senate Bill (SB) 1025, sponsored by Senator Wendy Rodgers, passed alongside SB 1373, sponsored by Senator Mark Finchem, in a vote of 37-19. Both bills seek to create a strategic reserve of Bitcoin for the state of Arizona.
The resolution directs the state to study the potential impacts and logistics of adding BTC to its financial holdings, which would make Arizona the first state to officially add Bitcoin as a treasury asset.
Helping lead the idea is Republican State Senator Wendy Rogers, who has been a consistent voice for Bitcoin adoption at the state level. According to CNBC, Rogers dismissed concerns about instability and expressed her belief in Bitcoin’s long term value stating, “I do not have any concerns about the volatility of bitcoin simply because if you zoom out on all of the charts, it always increases in value.”
She stated further, calling Bitcoin a “hedge against inflation,” reflecting the growing popularity among politicians about Bitcoin’s important role in today’s challenging economic environment, and a statement backed by other Republicans such as Donald Trump Jr.
This isn’t the first time Rogers has proposed Bitcoin friendly legislation. In 2022, she introduced SB 1341, which would have allowed Bitcoin to be used as legal tender in Arizona. Unfortunately, this was never brought to vote. In 2023, she introduced SB 1239, which would have allowed Arizona’s government to accept Bitcoin as payment for municipal payments from citizens. This bill passed the senate with a 16-13 vote, but failed in the House Ways and Means Committee with a 4–5 vote, stopping its progress. Her legislative history shows a consistent effort to make Arizona a pro crypto state. With inflation still a major concern, her latest effort may be landing at just the right moment.
While the result of this does not yet authorize the purchase of Bitcoin, it lays the foundation for it happening in the near future. If signed into law by the Governor, Arizona would become the first U.S. state to formally put Bitcoin into its treasury, and potentially set off a wave of similar moves across the country.
