Arizona Bitcoin Bills to Make BTC Legal Tender in the State

Earlier this week, State Senator Wendy Rogers (R-AZ) introduced a set of bills that would make the world’s most popular cryptocurrency legal tender in Arizona. If passed, the Arizona Bitcoin bills would allow state agencies to accept BTC as a payment method.

Arizona isn’t the only US state to see such bills introduced. Similar stories are coming from Texas, as well as Mississippi, Missouri, and New Hampshire. At the moment of writing, no states have officially made Bitcoin legal tender, but there are obvious signs that it may happen in near future.

In January 2023, Bitcoin legalization is still in its infancy, with only onecountry in the world currently recognizing BTC as a legal currency. El Salvador is the country in question, which gave Bitcoin the green light last September.  

Will Bitcoin Become a Legal Form of Currency in AZ

The aim of Arizona Bitcoin bills is to recognize BTC as a legal tender in the eyes of state law. If passed, the regulation would allow Arizonans to use this cryptocurrency to pay their financial obligations to the state – taxes, debts, fines, and so on.

At the moment, all transactions in the US are made in dollars, but Arizona could become the first state where it’s possible to use an alternative. The new bills would open the door for both individuals and businesses to send money to state agencies.  

What’s interesting is that the bill only focuses on Bitcoin, with no mentions of any other cryptocurrency. The probable reason is that all the other digital currencies are way behind Bitcoin in terms of popularity – Bitcoin has a market share of nearly 40% in the crypto universe.

At first glance, there seems nothing wrong with the idea, but financial experts don’t believe the bills are likely to be passed. They believe Sen. Wendy Rogers’ second attempt at making BTC legal tender in Arizona is going to have the same faith as the first one.

Sen. Rogers’ Second Bitcoin Bill in Arizona

Almost exactly one year ago, Senator Rodgers had introduced a similar set of bills, but it didn’t go well with other senators. The proposal died by the second reading.  

Critics of Rodgers’ idea – including Williamette University Rohan Grey – believe that recognizing Bitcoin as a legal form could potentially violate other laws. They believe it could interfere with the state’s constitutional limitations regarding the issuing of its own money.

Others suspect that Senator Rodgers’ intentions aren’t as noble as presented. As a member of Oath Keepers – a far-right militia whose members took part in the January 6 US Capitol attack – Rodgers is accused of trying to undermine the US Government by her opponents.