- The Arizona Senate looks to include Bitcoin (BTC) and other crypto ETFs in the State’s retirement portfolios.
- The bill was authored by Republican representatives.
- The spot Bitcoin ETF market in the US recorded a total of $648.3 million inflows on March 5.
Another win for Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency industry may be underway as the Arizona State Senate just filed a bill to pave the way for the possible inclusion of Bitcoin and other digital asset exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the investment portfolios of the State Retirement System (ASRS) and the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS).
The Particulars of the Bill
According to records, the bill was filed and read for the first time on January 30th this year. It was sponsored by Republican Senators Jake Hoffman and Warren Petersen as well as Republican Third District Representative Joseph Chaplik. After that, it was endorsed by the Senate Finance and Commerce (FICO) Committee Action on February 12.
Two weeks ago, the proposal’s Third Reading got 16 votes for its approval against 13 who weren’t in favor and one who did not vote for its passage. The bill is currently undergoing another review under the US House of Representatives.
The bill urges the ASRS and PSPRS to consider the possible pros and cons of adopting Bitcoin and other digital asset ETFs in their investment portfolios. It also seeks the monitoring of the performance of these investment vehicles. This includes consultation with firms approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to offer digital ETFs.
From there, the bill instructs the ASRS and PSPRS to submit a comprehensive report detailing the feasibility, risk, and potential benefits of allotting a portion of the state retirement system monies to these digital assets. Furthermore, it directs the same entities to provide the State Treasurer, the Senate President, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives with options and recommendations on how to invest safely in the aforementioned asset class.
The deadline for the report’s submission is at least three months before the first regular session of the Fifty-Seventh Legislature.
Latest Performance of Bitcoin ETFs
BlackRock continued to dominate the spot Bitcoin ETF market in the US as it achieved a record-high of $788 million in daily inflows on Tuesday. This came even with the ensuing mass sell-off right after Bitcoin shot up to its new all-time high of $69,170.63 on the same day.
At the end of yesterday’s trading session, the total net inflows of all the 10 spot Bitcoin ETFs approved last January 11 was at $648.3 million based on the data provided by Farside Investments.