Two state bitcoin bills

Arizona last night signed a law allowing the state to hold bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the second such law inked over the past week after New Hampshire on Tuesday became the first state to pass some kind of reserve legislation.

Why it matters: Reserves for bitcoin became a national issue after then presidential candidate Donald Trump made the idea of bitcoin strategic reserves into a topic.

• It has spread ever since the election, with half the country's state legislatures at least floating the idea.

Friction point: Arizona's passage was far from smooth sailing. The state's Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, vetoed a separate bill on the measure last week after it cleared Arizona's second chamber.

• It was the fact that crypto holdings could reach state retirement funds that drew side-eye from the governor.
• "Arizonans' retirement funds are not the place for the state to try untested investments like virtual currency," Hobbs wrote in a letter with the veto of Senate Bill 1025.

Yes, but: Hobbs did sign House Bill 2749 into law last night, which doesn't permit the investment of public funds, but rather creates a reserve to hold cryptocurrencies found to be abandoned unclaimed property in the state.

• The reserve which will be administered by the state treasurer.
• The bill that was vetoed would have allowed up to 10% of public funds in the state to be invested in digital assets.

New Hampshire's new law is more conservative. The state's Republican governor, Kelly Ayotte, shared her Tuesday signing of House Bill 302 on X.

• Though it doesn't require any investment, it permits state officials to buy cryptocurrency on behalf of state funds, with a limit of 5% of public funds.
• If other cryptocurrencies besides bitcoin have high enough market caps (more than $500 billion), they will also be allowed.

• The bill had nine sponsors, all Republican, and cleared the second chamber on Tuesday.

Zoom out: Speaking of state retirement systems, two such systems have made purchases of bitcoin ETFs: those in Wisconsin and Michigan.

What they're saying: "For many years, we've laid the groundwork in our legislature for New Hampshire to be Bitcoin-, crypto-, and blockchain-friendly," Rep. Keith Ammon (R.-N.H.), a sponsor of his state's legislation, tells Axios.

• Another important difference in New Hampshire's legislation, he explains, is that it allows the state to buy precious metals. This got other supporters on board.
• "The common theme is sound money that can't be debased," he says.

Zoom out: We would still very much like to know how much bitcoin federal agencies hold.

• Those reports, required in Trump's strategic reserve executive order, must have been turned in to Treasury, but nothing has been said about them.