Texas Lawmakers Want to Create a State Bitcoin Reserve

Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown) introduced a bill on Wednesday that would create the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

Lawmakers in the Texas Senate are looking to diversify the state's cash reserves into something a little more digital.

Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown) introduced a bill on Wednesday that would create the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The bill would not only establish a bitcoin reserve for the state, but also direct the comptroller's office to form a five-person committee to oversee the reserve.

The bill is one of 25 pieces of legislation that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick tagged as a priority bill. Patrick said he would expand the list to 40 bills soon.

The establishment of a bitcoin reserve would allow the state comptroller to invest state funds in certain cryptocurrencies. The bill states that investment in cryptocurrencies can enhance the state's financial resilience and "serve as a hedge against inflation and economic volatility."

The comptroller would be limited in which cryptocurrencies the state could invest in, requiring the currency to carry a market capitalization of at least $500 billion over a 12-month period. A market capitalization in cryptocurrency is the total value of coins that have been mined. Currently, the only cryptocurrency with a market cap above that number is Bitcoin with a $1.9 trillion cap, according to Coinbase.

The bill does not list a minimum value or an initial investment for the reserve, just that the state creates one. There is also no time frame listed for how long assets must be held in the reserve before it can be resold or spent, though it does say that crypto held in the reserve can be temporarily moved to the state treasury if needed.

Just after he returned to office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that seeks to clarify regulations in the crypto industry.

Trump's order establishes the Presidential Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, which will develop a federal regulatory framework for digital assets, including stablecoins, and evaluate the creation of a strategic national digital assets stockpile, according to Fox Business.

Last year, a bill filed in the US Senate by Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wy.) looked to establish a national bitcoin reserve. The bill would have directed the Department of Treasury to purchase 1 million bitcoins over a five-year period to be held in a trust for at least 20 years.