Arizona Goes Full Bull: State Seizes Unclaimed Crypto, Launches Bitcoin Reserve Fund
Arizona just flipped the script on dormant digital assets—snatching unclaimed crypto and funneling it into a first-of-its-kind state Bitcoin Reserve Fund. Move over, Wall Street vaults; the Grand Canyon State is stacking sats.
The Grab:
The new law lets Arizona claim inactive wallets and exchanges—think forgotten Bitcoin, Ethereum dust, and that Dogecoin your cousin mined in 2014. No more ‘lost keys’ loopholes.
The Pile:
All seized crypto gets dumped into a sovereign Bitcoin fund, hedging against the dollar while politicians pretend they understand UTXOs. Because nothing says ‘fiscal responsibility’ like gambling taxpayer-adjacent assets on volatility.
The Punchline:
Arizona’s playing 4D chess while the SEC sues everyone. Moon or bust—at least they’re not buying another overpriced Oracle database.
Arizona passes a law to claim ownership of abandoned digital assets
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs signed House Bill 2749 into law on Wednesday, allowing the state to claim ownership of unclaimed digital assets, including cryptocurrency, abandoned for at least three years. Bitcoin’s price reacted positively to the news, closing above $97,000 on Tuesday, and when writing on Wednesday, it extended its gains by trading above $98,500.
The law also enables the creation of a Bitcoin and Digital Asset Reserve Fund, which will accumulate value from staking rewards and airdrops of these assets, without using taxpayer funds.
“Digital assets aren’t the future—they’re the present,” said Chairman Weninger in the press release.
“This law ensures Arizona doesn’t leave value sitting on the table and puts us in a position to lead the country in how we secure, manage, and ultimately benefit from abandoned digital currency,” said Weninger.
This news comes after Hobbs vetoed another bill on Friday for being an “untested investment,” despite Arizona’s House and Senate approval. Still, her approval of HB 2749 has renewed Optimism for future crypto legislation in the state.
Signs of optimism for Bitcoin
Another sign of optimism came on Tuesday when New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte signed House Bill 302 (HB 302) into law, making the state the first in the US to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The law allows the state treasurer to invest up to 5% of public funds in Bitcoin and other digital assets.
Meanwhile, Arizona’s SB 1373 awaits approval from the governor. The bill would allow Arizona’s treasurer to allocate up to 10% of Arizona’s Budget Stabilization Fund to Bitcoin.
The approval of the New Hampshire BTC reserve bill and Arizona’s recent development could set a precedent for other states, such as North Carolina and Texas, which are also listed in the State Reserve Race. This could be positive for Bitcoin in the long term and for its broader adoption.
