3 weeks ago
Texas lawmakers approved authorities to found a state-level strategical Bitcoin (BTC) reserve connected May 21 aft a 101‑42 House vote, according to the House livestream.
According to Bitcoin Laws, the SB 21 measure present needs to beryllium approved again successful the Senate with the House’s added amendments. The Senate approved the erstwhile iteration of the measure with a 25-5 ballot successful favour connected March 5.
Following the Senate vote, the authorities volition beryllium sent to Governor Greg Abbott’s table for his last support earlier it tin go law.
Once SB 21 reaches his desk, the Governor volition person 20 days to motion oregon veto it. If the politician takes nary action, the measure volition go instrumentality without a signature connected the archetypal concern time thereafter.
Bitcoin reserve
The connection allows the authorities comptroller to get Bitcoin utilizing surplus General Revenue, taxable to reporting rules that reflector those applied to golden bullion held successful the Texas Bullion Depository.
Congressman Giovanni Capriglione, 1 of the bill’s superior sponsors, told colleagues during level statement up of the tally:
“Today is simply a pivotal infinitesimal successful securing Texas’ enactment successful the integer property with the transition of our strategical Bitcoin reserve. Now we clasp a modern plus with accepted properties, but aboriginal promise.”
He added that a Bitcoin reserve not lone strengthens Texas’s fiscal sovereignty but besides positions the authorities arsenic a forward‑thinking portion prepared for the improvement of planetary finance.
If approved by the Governor, Texas volition go the 3rd US authorities to nonstop nationalist funds into Bitcoin arsenic portion of a strategical reserve framework, pursuing Arizona and New Hampshire.
The US authorities would initiate Bitcoin purchases lone aft the comptroller publishes procurement guidelines successful the Texas Register and secures a retention declaration that satisfies the statute’s determination requirement.
Legislative pathway
The Senate cleared SB 21 connected March 6. Sen. Charles Schwertner, the measure author, argued that allocating a portion of Texas’s disposable currency to Bitcoin tin support purchasing powerfulness during monetary shocks.
Under the substance precocious to the governor, the comptroller indispensable disclose acquisition dates, portion counts, and aggregate outgo ground each quarter.
The authorities does not enforce a dollar‑denominated cap. Still, it requires holdings to beryllium custodied with a qualified entity wrong Texas oregon wrong a US jurisdiction that recognizes Bitcoin arsenic property.
The measure besides instructs the comptroller to survey imaginable gross streams tied to web participation, including Lightning‑enabled outgo rails for authorities fees.
Those findings are owed to the House Appropriations Committee by January 2026, mounting up a reappraisal up of the 89th Legislature.
Editor’s Note: Article updated astatine 21:27 GMT to clarify that the Senate volition person to ballot again pursuing the House amendments to the bill.
The station Texas House lawmakers walk Bitcoin reserve measure with caller amendments, Senate to ballot again appeared archetypal connected CryptoSlate.
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