A cursory learn of headlines this week has led some crypto traders to cheer the historic creation of digital asset reserve funds by two states.
Governors of New Hampshire and Arizona have signed payments that created what gave the impression to be the primary two digital asset reserves in US state historical past.
Nonetheless, a better overview of these reserves reveals a considerable distinction between their precise textual content and social media posts about them.
Take into account Arizona’s newly signed regulation authorizing the creation of a “bitcoin (BTC) and digital assets reserve fund.” Though a fund is, certainly, now licensed by regulation, Arizona won’t be making any crypto purchases.
As an alternative, the state could solely add seized property from civil and prison authorized proceedings to its so-called Bitcoin Reserve Fund.
In keeping with Arizona’s newly-revised Part 44-302 statute, the state now defines sure kinds of property, like checks, annuities, certificates of deposit, and digital property, as “presumed abandoned” if they’re lawfully within the possession of the state and their proprietor doesn’t declare them for 3 years.
Topic to quite a lot of situations, the state could thereafter assume possession of such “abandoned property” like digital property, and add these property to its so-called “digital assets reserve fund.”
In different phrases, Arizona has merely outlined the situations beneath which it might overtake possession of different individuals’s property, together with digital property.
It won’t be shopping for any digital property beneath this regulation.
Arizona coming for ‘deserted’ Bitcoin 
‘[…] in the end profit from deserted digital forex.
[…]
Digital property are presumed deserted if the rightful proprietor fails to answer communications over a three-year interval.
As soon as deemed deserted, holders should ship… https://t.co/CtRIf827Z2
— CR1337 (@cryptonator1337) Might 8, 2025
The effective print on crypto reserve funds
However, New Hampshire’s new regulation acquired hundreds of likes and shares on social media earlier this week on the promise that the state would change into the primary state to “invest” in cryptocurrency.
Few seen the purposeful, singular tense of the phrase cryptocurrency.
Certainly, buried within the regulation in paragraph II, a provision prohibits the state treasurer from investing any public funds in any digital asset with a market capitalization beneath $500 billion averaged over the earlier calendar 12 months.
Stablecoins are additionally exempted from this market cap minimal.
Just one digital asset has a market capitalization of over $500 billion: bitcoin.
Due to this fact, regardless of the regulation’s creation of a digital asset reserve, the one digital asset investments allowed by regulation at present are stablecoins — which shouldn’t enhance in worth, by definition, and are due to this fact not significant investments — and BTC.
