Bitcoiners and United States government officials have criticized Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs\u2019s decision to veto a bill that would have allowed the state to hold Bitcoin as part of its official reserves.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will age poorly,\u201d Casa co-founder and cypherpunk Jameson Lopp said<\/a> in a May 3 X post. Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>) entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano said<\/a>, \u201cImagine the ignorance of a politician to believe they can make investment decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf she can\u2019t outperform Bitcoin, she must buy it,\u201d Pompliano said. Crypto lawyer Andrew Gordon said, \u201cWe need more elected officials who understand that Bitcoin and crypto are the future.\u201d<\/p>\n Source: <\/em>Julian Fahrer<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Wendy Rogers, who co-sponsored the bill with State Representative Jeff Weninger, also voiced her disappointment.<\/p>\n \u201cPoliticians don\u2019t understand that Bitcoin doesn\u2019t need Arizona. Arizona needs Bitcoin,\u201d Rogers said<\/a>.<\/p>\n On May 2, Hobbs vetoed the Arizona Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act, which would have permitted Arizona to invest seized funds<\/a> into Bitcoin and create a reserve managed by state officials. \u201cToday, I vetoed Senate Bill 1025. The Arizona State Retirement System is one of the strongest in the nation because it makes sound and informed investments,\u201d Hobbs said.<\/p>\n Source: <\/em>Dr. Danish<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Rogers said she would refile the bill during her next session. Rogers also pointed out that Arizona\u2019s state retirement system already holds stocks of Michael Saylor\u2019s Strategy (MSTR).<\/p>\n \u201cWhich is basically a leveraged Bitcoin ETF. Arizona\u2019s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve bill will be back. HODL,\u201d Rogers said. The stock price of Strategy rose 32% in April, the most significant monthly gain since November 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n Related: <\/strong><\/em>US gov\u2019t actions give clue about upcoming crypto regulation<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Well-known crypto skeptic Peter Schiff sided with Hobbs. \u201cThe government should not be making decisions to use public funds to speculate in cryptocurrencies,\u201d Schiff said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arizona would have become the first US state to establish a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve if it had passed.<\/p>\n Arizona joins several other US states where similar efforts have failed. Similar proposals in Oklahoma, Montana<\/a>, South Dakota<\/a> and Wyoming have stalled or been withdrawn recently.<\/p>\nCall for government officials who understand Bitcoin is \u201cthe future\u201d<\/h2>\n