The governor of Arizona has rejected a bill that would have seen the US state hold on to seized crypto assets in a fund.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed House Bill 2324 on Tuesday, stating in a letter that it “disincentivizes local enforcement from working with the state on digital asset forfeiture by removing seized assets from local jurisdictions.”
The state’s House voted the bill down during its third reading in May, but the Senate revived it in a reconsideration vote last month. The measure was then passed by the House in a 34-22 vote on June 24.
The governor’s veto could be overridden with a two-thirds vote by the House and Senate, but that appears unlikely to happen unless some lawmakers switch their vote.
The bill would have created a “Bitcoin and Digital Assets Reserve Fund” to manage any digital assets forfeited to the state.
Katie Hobbs’ veto letter for HB 2324. Source: Arizona Governor’s Office
The bill stipulated that the first $300,000 worth of crypto in a criminal forfeiture would go to the attorney general’s office.
Any amount over that would have been split 50% with the AG, 25% to the state general fund, and 25% to the new reserve fund.
Hobbs’ history of crypto bill rejection
Hobbs has vetoed other crypto bills that had made their way through the state’s House and Senate.
In May, she vetoed Senate Bill 1025, which would have created the Arizona Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and allowed the state treasurer to invest up to 10% in Bitcoin (BTC), saying cryptocurrencies are “untested investments.”
She also vetoed Senate Bill 1373, a Strategic Digital Assets Reserve Bill that would have also allowed the state to create a treasury from seized assets.
🇺🇸 JUST IN: Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has vetoed the state’s digital assets reserve fund bill HB2324.
She claimed the bill would prevent local law enforcement from cooperating with the state on digital asset forfeiture by removing seized assets from local jurisdictions. pic.twitter.com/d4LI2j8ASH
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) July 2, 2025
Arizona allows crypto reserve fund bill
Three crypto bills have now been rejected by the Arizona governor, and only one has made it through.
Arizona House Bill 2749, enacted in May, amends state statutes to integrate crypto assets into Arizona’s financial and unclaimed property frameworks by establishing the Bitcoin and Digital Assets Reserve Fund, managed by the state treasurer.
State’s race to pass crypto laws
Other US states are also considering bills that would create reserves to stockpile Bitcoin and crypto.
Last month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill to create the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, a state-managed fund that will hold Bitcoin as part of the state’s long-term assets.
New Hampshire also passed a bill in May enabling the state to “invest in cryptocurrency and precious metals”, while six other state legislatures have bills at various stages of passage that aim to create a crypto reserve, according to data from Bitcoin Laws.
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