 |
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, Second Regular Session
AMENDED
digital assets strategic reserve fund
Purpose
Establishes the Digital Assets Strategic Reserve Fund (Fund), administered by the State Treasurer, and consisting of digital assets held by, confiscated by or surrendered to the state. Allows the State Treasurer to invest the total amount of monies deposited in the Fund in any fiscal year and to loan digital assets from the Fund, if the loan does not increase financial risk to the state.
Background
The State Treasurer is responsible for the safekeeping of all securities for which the State Treasurer is the lawful custodian. The State Treasurer invests state monies with consideration for the probable safety of capitol and the probable rate of return over extended periods of time. The State Board of Investment reviews the investment activities of the State Treasurer (Ariz. Const. art. 10 § 7).
A digital asset in Arizona is presumed to be abandoned if, after three years, the digital asset is unclaimed by the apparent owner. The holder of property that is presumed abandoned must pay, deliver or cause to be paid or delivered the abandoned property to the Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR). If the property reported to ADOR is a digital asset, the holder must report and deliver the digital asset in its native form to ADOR or the ADOR's designated qualified custodian within 30 days. On expiration of three years after the date the digital asset was transferred to the qualified custodian and if the property remains unclaimed, any airdrops or staking rewards must be transferred to the Bitcoin and Digital Asset Reserve Fund (A.R.S Title 44, Chapter 3)
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Establishes the Fund, administered by the State Treasurer, and consisting of digital assets held by, confiscated by or surrendered to the state.
2. Requires the State Treasurer to deposit digital assets held by, confiscated by or surrendered to the state in the Fund through the use of a secure custody solution by a qualified custodian or in a form of an exchange traded product that is issued by an investment company registered in Arizona.
3. Allows the State Treasurer to invest the total amount of monies deposited in the Fund in any fiscal year.
4. Allows the State Treasurer to loan digital assets from the Fund to generate additional returns, if the loan does not increase any financial risks to the state.
5. Defines cryptocurrency fair value as a weighted evaluation of a coin's economic and technical vitality using performance metrics, including adoption by coins owners, annual transactions, annual transaction value and development ecosystems.
6. Defines digital assets to include virtual currency, virtual coins and cryptocurrency or native on-chain assets that meet the cryptocurrency fair value score of one percent of the digital gold standard benchmark, including Bitcoin, DigiByte, XRP, stablecoin, a non-fungible token, Dash, EGLD, Internet Computer, NEAR, Ravencoin, Chia, eCash, Monero, Nano and any other digital-only assets that confer economic, proprietary or access rights or powers.
7. Adds a technology provider of a secure custody solution to the definition of qualified custodian for the purposes of digital assets reported to ADOR as unclaimed property.
8. Defines terms.
9. Contains a statement of legislative findings.
10. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by Committee of the Whole
1. Specifies that the Digital Assets Strategic Reserve Fund (Fund) consists of digital assets that are held by, rather than seized by, the state and removes monies appropriated by the Legislature from the authorized Fund sources.
2. Redefines cryptocurrency fair value as a weighted evaluation of a coin's economic and technical vitality using performance metrics including, adoption by coins owners, annual transactions, annual transaction value and development ecosystems.
3. Adds Dash, EGLD, Internet Computer, NEAR, Ravencoin, Chia, eCash, Monero and Nano to the definition of digital asset.
4. Adds a technology provider of a secure custody solution to the definition of qualified custodian.
5. Defines secure custody solution and adds a technology provider of a secure custody solution to the definition of qualified custodian for the purposes of digital assets reported to the Arizona Department of Revenue as unclaimed property.
6. Makes technical and conforming changes.
Senate Action
FIN 2/16/26 DP 4-2-1
Prepared by Senate Research
March 3, 2026
MG/SJ/hk