Arizona has broken new ground in what’s been a race among U.S. states to see which may become first to set up a crypto reserve as a formal part of their fiscal strategy, getting legislation approved with mostly Republican lawmakers in support.
It’s unclear whether Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, will look favorably on the legislation that was rejected by most Democratic lawmakers. She has vetoed a long list of bills in this session, and if she vetoes this, too, the matter is closed for the year.
If it were approved, Arizona’s inclusion of digital assets in its public-funds investments could even outpace the U.S. Treasury Department’s effort to get it done, which still awaits a full accounting of the U.S. holdings before federal officials can move to build the reserve that President Donald Trump has called for.
With the Arizona House of Representatives passing the crypto reserve effort in a 31-25 vote on Monday — three Democrats voted in favor — the state surged past others considering similar measures, including New Hampshire, where a bill has passed its House.
But Hobbs has been in a budget dispute with Republican lawmakers.
“Any bill not already on my desk will be vetoed until we have a serious, bipartisan funding solution that protects health care for Arizonans with disabilities,” the governor had said in an April 17 posting on social media site X. That matter may have been resolved with her signature on a disabilities-funding bill last week.