The last year has been unkind to bitcoin, with its price dropping nearly 60% from its peak. That’s dampened a lot of the hype around bitcoin, but not all of it. There are still many believers in the cryptocurrency’s future, with Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers among them.

Rogers, a pro-Donald Trump Republican elected to Arizona’s senate in 2020, on Tuesday submitted a bill that would make bitcoin legal tender in the state. Following in the footsteps of El Salvador, whose polarizing president made bitcoin legal tender in 2021, the bill, if passed, would afford bitcoin the same legal status as the US dollar. It could be used to pay debts, taxes and as a commercial medium of exchange. 

The bills are co-sponsored by Rogers’ state senate Repubican colleagues Jeff Weninger and J.D. Mesnard. Barring support from state Democrats, the bills could pass with uniform backing from the state’s Republican senators and representatives. Republicans hold 16 of Arizona’s 30 state senate seats and 31 of its 60 House of Representative spots. 

A similar bill introduced by…