Arizona crypto reserve bills inch closer to law after passing Senate
Arizona’s Senate has advanced a Bitcoin reserve bill, bringing it to second place behind Utah in a race between US states to get a crypto investment bill approved.
The Arizona Senate passed the Strategic Digital Assets Reserve bill (SB 1373) on its third reading on Feb. 27 with a vote of 17 for and 12 against. It now advances to the state’s House.
The bill, sponsored by Republican Senator Mark Finchem, would create a “Digital Assets Strategic Reserve Fund” administered by the state treasurer that would consist of money appropriated by the legislature and crypto seized by the state.
The treasurer can’t invest more than 10% of the total fund deposits in any fiscal year but may loan digital assets from the fund to generate returns if it doesn’t increase financial risks to the state.
“[Whether] you like it or not, legislation will happen at the federal level in this order: Stablecoins, Market Structure, and Strategic Bitcoin Reserve,” Satoshi Action Fund founder Dennis Porter said in a Feb. 28 X post.
Arizona moves up in the strategic reserve race. Source: Bitcoin Laws
Another Bitcoin reserve bill is also making its way through Arizona’s Senate. The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act (SB 1025), co-sponsored by Republican Senator Wendy Rogers and Representative Jeff Weninger, also passed the Senate’s third reading on Feb. 27 with a vote of 17 for and 11 against.
The Rogers and Weninger-sponsored bill focuses on investment authority for public funds to invest in crypto assets, while the Finchem-sponsored bill establishes a specialized fund for seized digital assets and appropriated funds.
Related: Michigan becomes latest state to propose crypto reserve bill
There are currently 18 US states that have crypto reserve bills pending Senate votes, while two — Arizona and Utah — are in the final stages of the approval process.
State crypto investment bills have been rejected in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota and Pennsylvania.
The status of crypto reserve-related bills. Source: Bitcoin Reserve Monitor
Bitcoin reserve proposals are gaining support across the US thanks to President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto policies.
Bitcoin, meanwhile, has tanked 17% over the past seven days as it struggles to keep gains due to economic uncertainty over Trump’s sweeping incoming tariffs.
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Upbit parent firm Dunamu is trying to overturn sanctions imposed by regulators after they found faults with Upbit’s verification process.
Hong Kong’s Cyberport, a government-backed business hub focused on Web3, blockchain and artificial intelligence, is ramping up its investment in emerging technologies to position the city as a global tech leader.
On Feb. 27, Cyberport hosted the “AI Safety, Trust, and Responsibility” forum with international AI academic institutions to discuss AI governance, safety and responsible innovation initiatives.
The Cyberport hub hosts over 270 blockchain technology-related enterprises and more than 350 startups specializing in AI and big data research and development.
Hong Kong Cyberport hosts AI summit. Source: Cyberport
A day prior, on Feb. 26, the Hong Kong government’s 2025–26 budget paid special attention to emerging technologies, aiming to “seize the critical opportunities presented by technological reform and artificial intelligence development.”
Hong Kong invests heavily in Web3 and AI via the Cyberport hub
The Chinese Special Administrative Region allocated 1 billion Hong Kong dollars ($125.5 million) to establish the Hong Kong AI Research and Development Institute, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po announced during the Hing Kong budget speech.
Related: Hong Kong regulator unveils ‘ASPIRe’ roadmap to become global crypto hub
The institute is dedicated to “facilitating upstream R&D, transforming midstream and downstream R&D outcomes, and expanding application scenarios.”
To fuel the Web3, blockchain and AI innovation, Cyberport’s Artificial Intelligence Supercomputing Centre (AISC), which launched on Dec. 9, 2024, will grow to a computing power of 3,000 petaFLOPS and will be able to process 3,000 quadrillion floating-point operations per second.
Streamlining AI research and talent development
Additionally, one of the co-organizers of the AI forum, the World Digital Technology Academy (WDTA), also announced the establishment of the “WDTA Asia-Pacific Institute (preparatory)” at Cyberport.
Yale Li, the executive chairman of WDTA, highlighted the institute’s three core initiatives. These include building a “safety-native” technological framework, establishing a “human-oriented” value system and commitment to “responsible innovation.”
Cyberport has signed numerous Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with universities and institutions to help students with internship and employment opportunities. Lastly, the Hong Kong government allocated $3 billion Hong Kong dollars ($385.6 million) to Cyberport for the launch of a three-year AI Subsidy Scheme to support the innovations.
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