Bitcoiners criticise Arizona governor after vetoing $100M Bitcoin bill

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill that would have allowed the state to hold Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) as part of its official reserves, drawing criticism from Bitcoin advocates and some government officials.

The Arizona Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act proposed investing seized funds into Bitcoin and creating a reserve managed by state officials.

“The Arizona State Retirement System is one of the strongest in the nation because it makes sound and informed investments,” Governor Hobbs defended her veto.

“Imagine the ignorance of a politician to believe they can make investment decisions,” Bitcoin entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano criticised the decision.

“If she can’t outperform Bitcoin, she must buy it,” Pompliano added.

“This will age poorly,” Casa co-founder Jameson Lopp commented on social media.

“Politicians don’t understand that Bitcoin doesn’t need Arizona. Arizona needs Bitcoin,” Arizona State Senator Wendy Rogers, a co-sponsor of the bill, expressed disappointment.

Rogers also mentioned plans to refile the bill in the next legislative session.

She noted that Arizona’s state retirement system already holds shares in Michael Saylor’s Strategy (MSTR), which she described as “basically a leveraged Bitcoin ETF.”

The Strategy stock price rose 32% in April, marking its most significant monthly gain since November 2024.

“The government should not be making decisions to use public funds to speculate in cryptocurrencies,” crypto sceptic Peter Schiff supported the veto.

Arizona would have been the first US state to establish a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve if the bill had passed.

Similar proposals in other states, including Oklahoma, Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming, have also stalled or been withdrawn recently.

At the time of reporting, the Bitcoin (BTC) price was $93,941.05.