Texas House passes strategic Bitcoin reserve bill

The Texas House of Representatives has passed the third reading of SB 21, a bill that seeks to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve in the state. The bill passed in a 101-42 vote and will now go to Texas Governor Greg Abbott to either sign into law or veto.

SB 21, authored by state Senator Charles Schwertner, establishes a Bitcoin (BTC) reserve that is managed by the state’s comptroller. The legislation allows the comptroller to invest in any cryptocurrency with a market cap above $500 billion over the previous 12-month period. Currently, the only cryptocurrency fitting the requirement is Bitcoin.

Before the vote, state Representative Giovanni Capriglione said to the chamber that the bill was a “pivotal moment in securing Texas’s leadership in the digital age with the passage of our strategic Bitcoin reserve. Now, we embrace a modern asset with traditional properties for future promise.” The bill passed in the Texas Senate in a 25-5 vote on March 6.

Texas’s economy is the second-largest in the United States, with a gross domestic product of $2.7 trillion in 2024, according to KVUE. If Texas were its own country, it would have the eighth-largest economy in the world.

Related: Texas lawmakers refile Bitcoin reserve bill, adding room for more crypto

If Abbott signs SB 21 into law, Texas will be the second US state to allow for the creation of a cryptocurrency reserve. New Hampshire became the first to do so on May 6 after Governor Kelly Ayotte signed House Bill 302 into law.

Similar bills in other states have faced resistance as of late. On May 13, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs axed two crypto reserve bills. On May 6, two Florida strategic Bitcoin reserve bills were taken off the table.

Hobbs wrote in her veto letter, “Current volatility in cryptocurrency markets does not make a prudent fit for general fund dollars [...].”

The risky nature of cryptocurrency investing was a factor in the decision of Montana lawmakers to kill a possible digital asset reserve.

According to Bitcoin Laws, 47 strategic Bitcoin reserve bills have been introduced in 26 states. There are 13 active bills at the federal level as well.

Abbott has expressed enthusiasm for cryptocurrency before and is expected to sign the bill into law. In a social media post dated November 2024, Abbott praised Texas as “the home of crypto mining," adding that it “should become the crypto capital.”

Abbott has reportedly accepted Bitcoin donations to campaigns since 2014.

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