The Arizona Senate advanced the creation of a state digital asset reserve fund after approving bill SB 1649, sponsored by Senator Mark Finchem. The Senate Finance Committee endorsed it on February 16 with a 4–2–1 vote, and on February 23 the Senate Rules Committee cleared it for consideration by the full chamber.
The measure would authorize Arizona’s state treasurer to custody, invest and lend digital assets confiscated or surrendered to the state through a qualified custodian or an exchange-traded product approved by the SEC, the CFTC, or the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions. Among the eligible assets, the bill explicitly mentions Bitcoin, XRP, Digibyte, stablecoins and non-fungible tokens.
The bill moves forward amid a market battered by headwinds: Bitcoin fell nearly 5% on the same day the Rules Committee approved it, and has shed 28% over the past month. The proposal also faces a well-known political obstacle: Governor Katie Hobbs, who vetoed at least four similar initiatives throughout 2025, citing financial risks to public funds. SB 1649 must clear the full Senate and then the House of Representatives before reaching her desk.
Source: https://legiscan.com/AZ/text/SB1649/id/3343243
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