dailyhodl.com
Arizona is mulling over the possibility of adding exposure to digital assets in the investment portfolios of government pension funds.
A new resolution wending its way through Arizona’s state legislature would take a step toward sinking pension funds for government and public safety employees into digital asset-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The proposal comes about a month after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs. The agency may also approve additional ETFs for other digital assets such as Ethereum (ETH) at some point in the future.
If approved, the resolution calls on the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) and the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS) to take several steps that could ultimately lead to the retirement funds gaining exposure to digital assets.
There are three main actions that the ASRS and PSPRS would be called on to take:
“a) consider the implications of including a digital asset ETF in their investment portfolios.
b) closely monitor developments in Bitcoin ETFs and other digital asset ETFs and consider the implications of including such assets in their investment portfolio after consulting with any firms that have been granted approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to offer a digital asset ETF.
c) submit a comprehensive report on the feasibility, risk and potential benefits of directing a portion of state retirement system monies into digital asset ETFs, including a list of options and recommendations for how the state might safely invest in the digital asset class to the State Treasurer, President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives at least three months before the beginning of the Fifty-Seventh Legislature, First Regular Session.”
The Republican-sponsored resolution was recently approved in the state’s Senate by a vote of 16 to 13. Only Republicans voted for it while only Democrats opposed it. The resolution is now being considered by the state’s House.