An Arizona Senator has proposed making Bitcoin legal tender in the state, which could make it the first state to do so in the United States. Here are the details.
What Happened: Arizona State Senator Wendy Rogers, a Republican, has introduced legislation that would make Bitcoin BTC/USD legal tender in the Grand Canyon state.
“Any medium of exchange that is authorized by the United States Constitution or Congress for the payment of debts, public charges, taxes and dues,” the legislation says.
The proposal refers to Bitcoin as “decentralized, peer-to-peer digital currency in which a record of transactions is maintained on the Bitcoin blockchain and new units of currency are generated by the computational solution of 21 mathematical problems and that operates independently of a central bank.”
The bill called SB 1341 would amend the existing list of accepted legal tender in the state of Arizona if approved.
SB 1341 would have to pass the Arizona Senate and Arizona House of Representatives. If the bill passes both chambers it would go in front of Arizona governor Doug Ducey, who could sign it into law.
It appears that a bill has been put forward in Arizona to make #bitcoin legal tender within the state. https://t.co/tdYS7TVagP (h/t @crmykins) pic.twitter.com/v1CDZ3zI5M
— Pomp 🌪 (@APompliano) January 28, 2022
Related Link: El Salvador Becomes First Country In The World To Adopt Bitcoin As Legal Tender
Why It’s Important: Rogers shared a local news report on Twitter confirming that the bill had been introduced.
Rogers announced in 2021 that she was appointed to the Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Study Committee.
“I am going to work to help make Arizona crypto-friendly,” Rogers tweeted at the time.
Correct. It is good for everyone. https://t.co/hEFb1pSOO5
— Wendy Rogers (@WendyRogersAZ) January 28, 2022
Coindesk was quick to point out that the U.S. Constitution doesn’t allow individual states to create their own legal tender, which could make the bill a longshot.
El Salvador became the first country to make Bitcoin legal tender. The move has generated tons of recent headlines with the price of the cryptocurrency falling.
The International Monetary Fund has also urged El Salvador to drop Bitcoin as legal tender.
Don Huffines, a Republican candidate for governor of the state of Texas, recently said he would make Bitcoin legal tender in the state if he’s elected.
Price Action: The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust GBTC was up 7% to $26.74 on Friday.
Bitcoin is trading at $37,877 Friday evening.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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