Arizona Introduces Bill to Make Bitcoin Legal Tender

A state senator in Arizona has introduced a bill that would make bitcoin legal tender, which could make it the first state to do so in the United States. Senator Wendy Rogers, a Republican, has introduced legislation that would make Bitcoin a legal tender within the state. She has long been in support of making Arizona a more crypto-friendly state and was even appointed to the Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Study Committee last September. If approved, the bill called ‘SB 1341’ will expand the state’s definition of legal tender to include Bitcoin. Existing types of legal tender include any medium of exchange authorized for debt payments, coins issued by the government, and other types of coins with precious metal content. “Legal tender in this state consists of all the following: any medium of exchange that is authorized by the United States Constitution or Congress for the payments of debts, public charges, taxes, and dues… Bitcoin,” the bill reads in part. If passed, state agencies could accept Bitcoin as a payment method of fines, civil and other penalties, rent, rates, taxes, fees, charges, revenue, financial obligations, and ‘special assessments’ due to the state. Following the Footsteps of El Salvador For the bill to get passed, SB 1341 would have to pass the Arizona Senate and Arizona House of Representatives and would then have to be approved by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, who could sign it into law. The filing specifically mentions Bitcoin without referring to other cryptocurrencies, calling it the ‘decentralized peer-to-peer digital currency…maintained on the Bitcoin blockchain.’ It also draws attention to Bitcoin mining, noting that ‘new units … are generated by the computational solution of mathematical problems.’ Outside of the United States, El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in September 2021.

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