Right-Wing Arizona Senator Pushes to Recognize Bitcoin as Legal Tender

An Arizona State Senator has introduced a bill to make Bitcoin legal tender in The Grand Canyon State.

Wendy Rogers, a Republican and enthusiastic supporter of former President Donald Trump, yesterday put forward a proposal to amend the definition of legal tender in the state’s statutes to include the world’s biggest cryptocurrency.

The bill was introduced as one of a bundle of changes suggested by the State Senator, which included another bill preventing local authorities from taxing the use of blockchain technology.

There is also a proposal to allow state agencies to accept cryptocurrency as a payment method for fines, rents, taxes, or any other charges they need to collect.

Arizona and Bitcoin: Round 2

Rogers, a self-professed member of the far-right militia group the Oath Keepers, has tried to make Bitcoin legal tender before. 

She introduced a similar bill almost exactly a year ago, but it was not adopted. 

Rogers’ Republican colleagues Jeff Weninger and J.D. Mesnard co-sponsored the bills. If all her fellow party members get behind the bill, it could pass without Democrat support as Republicans hold a slim majority in the state senate.

If passed, the bill would make Arizona the first U.0.S state to give Bitcoin the same legal status as the dollar. 

Only a few places in the world have taken the step to make the cryptocurrency an officially accepted currency. El Salvador was the first country to take the step in 2021, followed by the Central African Republic last year.

Earlier this week, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong suggested that Brazil and Argentina, which are mulling the creation of a common currency, could consider using Bitcoin as legal tender.