Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Legislation Introduced by Texas House

On Thursday, Texas lawmakers introduced legislation to establish a Bitcoin reserve in a challenge to the traditional US Treasury norms and state-level fiscal strategies.

Republican state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione announced during an X Spaces event that the Bitcoin strategic reserve bill allows the state to establish a bitcoin reserve by collecting taxes, fees, and donations in Bitcoin, held for at least five years.

Putting Bitcoin as a Reserve Asset

According to the Satoshi Action Fund, a nonprofit Bitcoin advocacy group that worked with Capriglione on the bill, the US bitcoin strategic reserve will fortify the state’s fiscal stability and make it a leader in Bitcoin innovation.

“A strategic bitcoin reserve, investing in Bitcoin, would be a win-win for the state” Capriglione said.

Texas is considered the US’ second-largest economy and the eighth largest worldwide and is known for Bitcoin mining. The main goal of the legislation is to have taxes paid through cryptocurrency, but the initial strategic Bitcoin reserve proposal refrains from mentioning a direct Bitcoin purchasing strategy.

“This initial step is to allow some optionality and flexibility on it, but if I am able to get support from other legislators, we will make it even stronger,” Capriglione added.

The call for a national strategic bitcoin reserve – key crypto-friendly goal discussed by President-elect Donald Trump during his campaign – has intensified since the election, with Bitcoin surging over 45% as optimistic investors bet on its creation to drive the price even higher.

Bitcoin and the Federal Reserve Relationship

There are questions, though, over whether the US would create a Bitcoin reserve and, even if it did, whether it would be the first.

The mere notion of a US Bitcoin strategic reserve could ignite market optimism, with a likelihood of other countries following the US’ footsteps.

“It’s unlikely to occur” Needham’s John Todaro told CNBC, re-mentioning that it’s “unlikely to drive material price gains, as we do not expect the US government will purchase Bitcoin in any meaningful capacity, but it’s an item that drives excitement and optimism.”

Back in November, Pennsylvania introduced the first Bitcoin reserved bill, and discussions are currently underway in at least 10 more states, as well as in four countries, according to Dennis Porter, CEO of Satoshi Action Fund.

The organization has also supported state-level legislation to protect Bitcoin mining and transactions.

Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump declared his intention at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in July, when he said, “it will be the policy of my administration to keep 100 percent of all Bitcoin the US government currently holds or acquires in the future … as a core of the strategic national bitcoin stockpile.”

Final Thoughts

Bitcoin has been the golden child of the decentralized financial system for at least the past ten years, and now the digital currency’s strong potential is associated with Trump’s election and promises of Bitcoin and federal reserve.

As discussions grow around establishing a Bitcoin reserve, within the country and worldwide, cryptocurrency will keep on grabbing all the attention.

With Trump’s reign and administration showing support for Bitcoin reserve, there is high optimism about the coming years that will bring innovations that could drastically change the financial landscape and perhaps attracting further investment and governmental support.

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