Texas Senate passes Bitcoin reserve bill, New York targets memecoin rug pulls: Law Decoded

The Texas Senate passed the Bitcoin strategic reserve bill SB-21 on March 6. This followed a debate in which State Senator Charles Schwertner, who introduced the bill, argued that it would help Texas add a valuable and scarce asset to its balance sheet. 

Amid fears of Bitcoin (BTC) contending against the US dollar as a global reserve currency, Pro-Bitcoin lawmakers argued that Bitcoin was similar to gold and a hedge against inflation. 

If SB-21 is enacted, Texas will be the first state in the US to have a digital asset reserve. However, the governor must still sign the bill before it becomes law. 

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New York lawmakers introduced a bill to protect crypto users from memecoin rug pulls, where insiders abandon a project after investors have purchased their token. These scams usually end up with token prices plummeting, causing millions in losses to crypto investors. 

On March 5, Assemblymember Clyde Vanel introduced the legislation to establish criminal penalties for offenses that involve “virtual token fraud.” This explicitly targets deceptive practices associated with crypto. 

Fideum co-founder and CEO Anastasija Plotnikova told Cointelegraph that scams and rug pulls should be more thoroughly regulated. “In my view, these activities should fall firmly within the jurisdiction of law enforcement agencies,” Plotnikova added.

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The Crypto Task Force of the US Securities and Exchange Commission will host a series of roundtables to discuss the “security status” of crypto assets, with the first set for March 21. 

Crypto Task Force lead Commissioner Hester Peirce said she is looking forward to “drawing the expertise of the public” to develop a workable framework for crypto. 

The roundtable series is called the “Spring Sprint Toward Crypto Clarity,” and the first topic of discussion is dubbed “How We Got Here and How We Get Out — Defining Security Status.” 

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Utah lawmakers passed a Bitcoin bill after removing a section that would have allowed its state treasurer to invest in Bitcoin. While the HB230 bill passed the state Senate, it removed a key reserve clause that would’ve authorized the state treasurer to invest in digital assets with a market cap of over $500 billion.

The clause passed the second reading but was scrapped in the third and final reading. Still, the bill provides citizens basic custody protections, the right to mine, run a node and stake, among other things.   

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Argentine Federal Prosecutor Eduardo Taiano, the lead prosecutor investigating Argentine President Javier Milei’s alleged role in the LIBRA crypto scandal, requested the freezing of almost $110 million in digital assets related to the memecoin case. 

Taiano also requested the recovery of Milei’s deleted social posts and detailed records of all LIBRA transactions since its launch. The prosecutor aims to reconstruct the financial operations of Feb. 14 and 15, when the project’s trade volume peaked. 

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