Arizona’s governor vetoes the BTC reserve bill

What’s new? Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has vetoed two cryptocurrency bills that would have expanded the use of digital assets in the state, and signed into law a bill to tighten regulation of crypto ATMs.

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What else is known? Among the rejected proposals was Senate Bill number 1373 , which would have created a strategic digital asset reserve fund.

It did not authorize the use of public funds to purchase cryptocurrencies, but offered a structure for storage and management. The reserve was supposed to be formed from assets seized by law enforcement. Hobbs rejected it, citing market volatility.

Her veto followed last week’s rejection of Senate Bill 1025 , better known as the Arizona Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Act, which would have allowed up to 10% of state treasury and pension funds to be directed into bitcoin or other digital assets.

According to Bitcoin Laws, with this deviation, Arizona has joined at least eight other states that have officially blocked similar legislation to create a bitcoin reserve. Among them are Wyoming, Oklahoma, Montana, Florida, North Dakota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota.

Florida Congress has withdrawn bills to create a BTC reserve from consideration

They will not be voted on during the current legislative session

Read more

Hobbs also rejected Senate Bill 1024, which would have allowed Arizona institutions to accept cryptocurrency payments as fines, taxes, and fees in partnership with vetted service providers.

The only cryptocurrency bill she signed was document number 2387, which regulates crypto kiosks and ATMs in detail.

It requires operators to post fraud alerts in multiple languages, issue receipts with transaction hashes and wallet addresses, and use blockchain analytics tools to avoid transferring funds to fraudulent wallets.

The law also limits the total transaction amount for new customers to $2000 per day and to $10 500 for existing crypto ATM customers.

Under the law, cryptocurrency ATM operators must provide 24/7 customer support and document each transaction in accordance with anti-money laundering (AML) protocols.

That said, last week Hobbs signed Bill 2749, updating the regulation of unclaimed property to include digital assets.

The bill, introduced by House Commerce Committee Chairman Jeff Weninger, allows the government to keep unclaimed cryptocurrency in its original form rather than converting it to fiat.