Arizona lawmakers have approved a bill that would create a state-run cryptocurrency reserve fund, funded by digital assets seized in criminal investigations.
The Arizona House of Representatives passed House Bill 2324 (HB 2324) by a vote of 34-22, after the Senate had narrowly approved it by a 16-14 margin.
The bill now awaits Governor Ka-Ti Ho-Puz's signature to become law.
The fund aims to update Arizona's asset forfeiture laws to explicitly include digital assets such as Bitcoin, stablecoins, and other virtual currencies. The bill also establishes procedures for forfeiting, storing, and monetizing these assets.
Under this law, the first $300,000 of confiscated cryptocurrency will be directed to the Attorney General's Office. Any amount beyond that will be split: 50% to the Attorney General's Office, 25% to the state's general fund, and 25% to the new Bitcoin and Digital Asset Reserve Fund.
This move is part of a broader trend in the United States toward integrating digital assets into government financial operations, and represents a cautious approach that avoids direct speculative investments in cryptocurrencies and instead focuses on leveraging assets legally obtained from criminal activities.
