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This US State Is Turning Forgotten Cash Into Bitcoin—And It’s NOT California

BBG News

So, plot twist: Arizona, of all places, just made the kind of crypto power move that makes Silicon Valley look like they’re still fighting over their MySpace Top 8. Governor Katie Hobbs (who you expect to veto things, not launch the state into cyberpunk finance) has signed House Bill 2749. Now, leftover lattes, dusty piggy banks, and orphaned insurance checks could become… Bitcoin. No joke.

Arizona Decides to Not Be Boring, Just This Once  

Apparently, Arizona saw what the rest of the country was doing with unclaimed property and thought, “Let’s just YOLO this into Bitcoin and see what happens!” This makes them only the second state in the US with what they’re calling a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.” Strategic. That’s the actual word they used. The legislation passed on May 7, 2025, so maybe mark the date for when your grandma’s forgotten savings account started mooning on the blockchain.📈

The fun part? This isn’t coming out of taxpayers’ wallets. (Breathe, boomers!) Nope. Just the money people left behind on accident or because they forgot their cable was auto-renewing. The state is now flexing its financial muscles in anticipation of, you know, the collapse of fiat money and civilization as we know it. Or something a bit less dramatic. But only a bit. 

This Bill Actually Survived Politics

Four (!) crypto reserve bills tried to squeeze through this legislative session—like the Hunger Games of nerdy asset management. Senate Bill 1025 straight-up died (RIP), but HB 2749 crawled through and got the rose from Governor Hobbs. Special thanks to Representative Jeff Weninger for nerd-herding this thing into law… and for Coinbase, who apparently skipped running Superbowl ads for this testimony gig.

Bottom line: with this move, Arizona’s officially gone from “wait, where is that again?” to “crypto trendsetter.” Somebody get them a new license plate slogan.

What’s Actually Happening With This Stash?

The Arizona Treasurer’s Office is going full digital-goblin. Their gig: collect Bitcoin, Ethereum, and whatever else floats down the blockchain river from abandoned accounts, airdrops, or staking rewards. “Speculative trading?” Too spicy. “Securely hoarding random crypto like a dragon with social anxiety?” Absolutely yes.

The state’s not asking for your taxes here. They’re just giving unloved cash a second act as digital gold. The custody—because you were worried, admit it—will be handled by regulated US companies, so nobody’s accidentally YOLO-ing funds into Doge. (Yet.)

The sneakiest bit? Arizona will also get any interest or staking rewards those digital assets make. Just imagine the old state slogan: “Arizona: Now earning yield while you sleep.” 😎

So, Does The Crypto World Care?

As of May 8, 2025, the market’s giving big “meh” energy. No Elon tweet. No dramatic CNBC segments (yet). But the nerd patrol is watching—just in case all the other states try to catch the fever and start hoarding unclaimed Balenciaga gift cards as NFTs.

In the words of a possibly under-caffeinated spokesperson:

“Arizona’s Bitcoin and Digital Assets Reserve Fund, created under HB 2749, marks a unique initiative as it is the first state-level fund in the U.S. focused on the custody of unclaimed digital assets in their native forms, rather than participating in speculative investment.”   

Translation: We’re hoarding your forgotten money, Arizona-style. No promises your childhood bank account won’t end up as a Satoshi, though.

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2025-05-08 18:51

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