Arizona lawmaker proposes legalising Bitcoin as a payment instrument

Arizona State Senator Wendy Rogers has introduced a bill for consideration proposing to recognise Bitcoin as a transactional currency or payment instrument.

According to the document, Bitcoin would be accepted for the payment of debts, taxes and government fees, as well as other obligations. For the bill to pass, the Arizona House of Representatives and Senate must consider and approve it.

The U.S. Constitution does not permit individual states to create their own legal tender.

Rogers has also championed other initiatives. One of them proposes paying employees’ salaries in cryptocurrency by the authorities of any Arizona county, city, town or school district.

Another would remove the ban by any state government body on the use of digital currencies. Another would exclude Bitcoin and altcoins from the property tax base. The senator also proposed not to levy taxes and fees for “the use of blockchain technology.”

In September 2021, Rogers was named head of the Legislature’s Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Study Committee. She promised to make Arizona a crypto-friendly jurisdiction.

I am pleased to announce that I have been appointed to the Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Study Committee by Senate President @FannKfann. I am going to work to help make Arizona crypto-friendly. #BTC #BNB #Crypto pic.twitter.com/udkyGcvEUQ

— Wendy Rogers (@WendyRogersAZ) September 10, 2021

The head of the Fed, Jerome Powell stated, that bitcoin could replace gold, but not the U.S. dollar.

Earlier, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen described Bitcoin as a speculative asset.

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