Overview
- SB 1649 cleared the Senate Rules Committee on Feb. 23 after a 4–2–1 Finance Committee vote on Feb. 16 and was placed on the consent calendar with support from the Senate Republican Caucus.
- The measure would create a Digital Assets Strategic Reserve Fund administered by the state treasurer and capitalized with cryptocurrencies seized, confiscated or surrendered to the state rather than taxpayer funds.
- The treasurer would be authorized to hold, invest and loan reserve assets so long as those activities do not increase the state’s financial risk.
- Eligible holdings explicitly include Bitcoin, XRP and DigiByte, with room for assets meeting a defined fair value threshold as well as stablecoins and NFTs, all to be kept with qualified custodians or in approved exchange-traded products.
- Passage remains uncertain given Governor Katie Hobbs’ vetoes of similar 2025 proposals that raised concerns about volatility and fiscal exposure, even as market reaction to the latest progress has been muted.