Arizona rejects Bitcoin reserve plan, caps ATM use at $2K per day

Katie Hobbs, Arizona Governor, vetoed three significant crypto bills but backed tough consumer protection rules for Bitcoin ATMs.Governor Hobbs (D-Arizona) denied Senate Bill 1373 on May 12 which would have established a Digital Assets Strategic Reserve Fund to store crypto that has been seized by law enforcement or allocated by appropriate governing bodies. Governor Hobbs stated the proposal presented it as risky due to volatility associated with crypto.“Today, I vetoed Senate Bill 1373. Current volatility in cryptocurrency markets does not make a prudent fit for general fund dollars” reads the letter submitted to Senate President Warren Petersen.On May 3, Hobbs denied the Arizona Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act (SB 1025), which would allow the state to invest up to 10% of treasury and retirement fund investments in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. A third proposed bill was vetoed, Senate Bill 1024 which would allow state agencies to accept cryptocurrency as payment of taxes and fees.While these investments were rejected, Hobbs did, however, approve House Bill 2387 on May 12, which placed new rules on crypto ATMs in Arizona. The legislation requires kiosks to display clear, multilingual, and educational warnings about common crypto scams, and requires users to acknowledge those risks before doing transactions. Operators must also provide detailed receipts - including transaction information, contact details, fees, and refund policy.New users will now only be able to spend up to $2,000 on their first day, but returning customers will have limits of $10,500 after 10 days. In addition, users who fall victim to scams and report them within 30 days will get a full refund, including the fees charged.Notably, Hobbs signed House Bill 2749 this week, updating Arizona's unclaimed property laws to include cryptocurrencies — allowing the state to hold unclaimed digital assets in their original format.