President Donald Trump’s push for a Bitcoin reserve strategy is winning support across the U.S., bringing the idea closer to becoming a reality. Dennis Porter, co-founder of the Satoshi Act Fund, noted a growing trend among states to establish Bitcoin reserves. Currently, at least 11 states, including Texas and Pennsylvania, have introduced Bitcoin reserve bills, with this number expected to rise to 15 or 16.
Leading the way, Arizona is making major progress and may soon become the first state to invest 10% of its public funds in Bitcoin.
Arizona Approves Bold Bitcoin Bill
Arizona’s Senate Finance Committee recently passed SB1025, a groundbreaking bill allowing up to 10% of public funds to be invested in Bitcoin. Sponsored by State Senator Wendy Rogers and Representative Jeff Weninger, this legislation is a key step toward making Arizona the first state to officially hold Bitcoin in its reserves.
“Public funds” refer to assets managed by the state treasurer and retirement systems. With a 5-2 vote in favor, the bill now heads to the Senate Rules Committee before being presented for a full Senate vote.
A National Race for Bitcoin Reserves
Arizona’s progress comes at a time when other states are also planning to explore Bitcoin as a reserve asset. This push is partly driven by the crypto industry’s strong lobbying efforts, which spent $5.9 million supporting pro-crypto candidates in Arizona alone.
President Trump’s earlier promises to create a federal Bitcoin reserve added momentum to this trend, though his recent executive order has raised doubts about federal involvement. Regardless, states like Wyoming and Oklahoma are following Arizona’s lead, exploring similar Bitcoin reserve bills.
New Leadership Boosts Crypto Optimism
The confirmation of Scott Bessent as U.S. Treasury Secretary has further fueled optimism in the crypto space. Bessent, a hedge fund billionaire and digital asset advocate, received bipartisan support in a 68-29 Senate vote. Ripple CEO brad garlinghouse 
brad garlinghouse
Brad Garlinghouse is the CEO of the financial technology company Ripple Labs, in 2012 by Chris Larsen and Jed McCaleb, and has a headcount of 1,120. It is a financial technology business that specializes in blockchain technology and the cryptocurrency XRP, founded by Brad Garlinghouse. He also played a unique and significant role in creating an advanced cross-border payment using blockchain technology. He is an extremely popular person across the globe in the crypto landscape. Brad has previously served as the CEO of Hightail, a file-sharing service, and is also an active angel investor. Joined Ripple as COO. He was promoted to be the CEO in December 2016. Initially, he worked at AOL and Yahoo! where he filled in as Senior Vice President at Yahoo!, where he ran its Homepage, Flickr, Yahoo! Mail, and Yahoo Courier divisions. While at Yahoo, he also wrote an inner updated version known as the Peanut Butter Manifesto, requiring the organization to zero in on its core business instead of expanding itself. He is one of the Top Speakers in the Crypto and Blockchain field, where he shares the knowledge and evolvement of the technology in the current space
Quick Facts
Full Name
Bradley Kent Garlinghouse
Birth
06-02-1971, in Topeka, Kansas
Nationality
American
Education
Bachelor's degree in Economics, MBA from Harvard Business School.
Net Worth
$10B (Refer here)
Ripple's native token, XRP is among the top digital assets. As per CoinGape, Brad's company has $100 billion worth of XRP tokens in its reserve. This will help further innovation in Web3 and blockchain projects. As per reports surfing on Binance’s blog, Brad Garlinghouse may step down as CEO of Ripple to join the Crypto Advisory Council, which is led by President Trump. This significant event will boost the adoption of decentralized finance and blockchain growth.
Brad Garlinghouse: Trivia
2007: Served as Senior VP at Yahoo!, heading communications and consumer products.
2012: Became CEO of Hightail, leading digital file-sharing innovations.
2015: Joined Ripple as COO to push blockchain adoption in cross-border payments.
2017: Became CEO of Ripple, driving XRP adoption and blockchain partnerships.
2020: Led Ripple’s defense against the SEC lawsuit over XRP’s security status.
2021: Expanded Ripple’s ODL (On-Demand Liquidity) network for global crypto payments.
2023: Got a partial success against the SEC, declaring XRP as not a security.
2024: Continue leading Ripple in CBDC collaborations and global blockchain finance.
2025: May join Trump's Crypto Advisory Council to set regulations.
Notable Works & Achievements by Brad Garlinghouse
Year
Achievements
Details
2003
Wrote the 'Peanut Butter Manifesto' at Yahoo!
Highlighted Yahoo!'s lack of focus in operations.
2015
Joined Ripple as Chief Operating Officer
Took measures to integrate blockchain technology into banking systems.
2017
Appointed CEO of Ripple
Expanded Ripple's global partnerships, enhancing cross-border payment solutions.
2020
Named in Forbes' List of Wealthiest in Cryptocurrency
Recognized for significant contributions to the crypto industry.
2023
Legal Victory in SEC vs. Ripple Case
Achieved a favorable ruling impacting cryptocurrency regulations.
EntrepreneurInvestorChief Executive OfficerBoard Member
praised Bessent’s appointment, expressing confidence in his ability to drive innovation-friendly policies for crypto and technology.
To monitor this growing trend, Julian Fahrer has launched the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Tracker. This interactive tool provides daily updates on Bitcoin-related legislation, offering a clear picture of how states are adopting Bitcoin as part of their financial strategies.
Arizona’s bold step could set the stage for a national trend, inspiring other states to embrace Bitcoin as a financial reserve if the experiment proves successful.
