Recent Bitcoin developments show both the highs and lows of the pursuit of adoption. While the recent veto decision by the Arizona State governor has blocked the state from investing in Bitcoin, Brown University has entered the crypto world with an investment in ETFs.

More and more, various institutions are seeing the benefits of investing in Bitcoin and other crypto. Take the gambling sector, for example. There is a growing number of casinos that are opting for cryptocurrency thanks to its myriad of advantages, including privacy. As Carlos De Lanuza explains, many are able to bypass typical KYC requirements that customers find cumbersome because they use cryptos, which are decentralized ( source: https://www.valuewalk.com/cryptocurrency/best-bitcoin-casinos/). 

But even though the gambling sector seems ready to embrace crypto, the state of Arizona might take a bit longer. This comes as Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed the Digital Assets Strategic Reserve bill (SB1025). This bill would have seen Arizona investing a part of its seized funds into Bitcoin, making it the first state in the US to do so. There's been a lot of talk about crypto reserves, including from current President Donald Trump, and there was hope for Arizona to make history. 

But Governor Hobbs was adamantly against this, and her reasoning seems to be concerned about the stability of digital assets.

“Arizona’s retirement system is one of the strongest in the country because it is based on prudent and informed investments. The retirement funds of Arizonans are not a testing ground for unproven virtual assets,” she said in a message to the Senate.

Only time will tell if other states will take up the mantle and if so, what the outcome will be. One institution that does seem ready to take the crypto plunge is the noted Brown University. 

In a recent SEC filing, it was revealed that the university holds 105,000 shares of BlackRock’s Bitcoin IBIT ETF. This represents an initial exposure of $4.9 million, which has now risen to $5.8 million thanks to the price developments of Bitcoin. This makes it one of the first Ivy League universities in the US to embrace Bitcoin exposure and could trigger others to do the same.

Having a name like Brown University publicly associated with a Bitcoin fund offers it an added layer of credibility that could go a long way. And while this $5.8 million is a drop in the bucket of its over $7 billion endowment fund, it joins the likes of Emery University and The University of Austin (UATX)  that have also gained exposure to bitcoin through various means.

Overall, this shows that while some institutions are seemingly convinced of the value of Bitcoin, others are still wary. We can only hope that as more institutions get on board and have positive experiences investing in Bitcoin, others like the state of Arizona will become convinced and hopefully embrace the asset class as well.