State Senator Wendy Rogers (R-AZ) has introduced a set of bills intended to make Bitcoin legal tender in Arizona and allowing state agencies to accept bitcoin.
The proposed legislation is intended to recognize bitcoin as a legal form of currency in Arizona, allowing its use to pay debts, taxes and other financial obligations. This would mean that all transactions that currently take place in US dollars could potentially be done with bitcoin, and individuals and businesses would have the option to use bitcoin as they see fit.
Specifically mentioning bitcoin alone, the legal tender bill defines bitcoin as “the peer-to-peer decentralized digital currency in which a record of transactions is maintained on the Bitcoin blockchain and new units of currency are generated through the computational solution of mathematical problems”. and that it operates independently of a central bank”.
The acceptance bill is broader, saying that “a state agency may enter into an agreement with a cryptocurrency issuer to provide a method for accepting cryptocurrency as a method of payment for fines, civil or other penalties, rent, fees, taxes , fees, charges, revenues, financial obligations, and special liens to pay any amounts owed to that agency or to this state.”
This is the second time Senator Rogers has introduced a bill aimed at making Bitcoin legal tender in her state. She filed the same amendment in January 2022, who died for the second reading.
Although it may seem like there is little chance of the bill passing this time, the adoption of bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador has proven to be a boon for growth and investment in the country. Recent actions in states like Texas, New Hampshire, Missouri, and Mississippi indicate a growing interest from US states in bitcoin and its benefits. As bitcoin adoption strengthens, the likelihood of such bills passing will only increase.
