Texas House eyes Bitcoin reserve laws

The Texas House of Representatives introduced a Bitcoin reserve bill amid crypto adoption chants emboldened by Donald Trump’s political success on November 6.

Republican State Representative Giovanni Capriglione has introduced legislation for Texas to open a strategic Bitcoin (BTC) reserve that would hold the asset for at least five years. Capriglione’s proposal, delivered live during X Spaces on December 12, advocated collecting donations, taxes and fees in Bitcoin as a bulwark against US and global inflation.

The Texas Representative plans to curry favor with policymakers by tweaking the bill to keep it flexible and “as broad as possible.”

Bitcoin’s 50 percent rise since Donald Trump staged the “greatest political comeback in US history” has strengthened calls for a national strategic Bitcoin reserve, according to Anthony Scaramucci.

President-elect Trump promised at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville that America would hold 100% of its 207,000 BTC stockpile. Senator Cynthia Lummis announced her bill to collect 4% of BTC’s 21 million supply at the same event.

Following the election, states competed to get ahead of federal policies. Arkansas, Louisana, Montana, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania have passed rules to protect self-custodial, mining, and peer-to-peer transaction rights.

Alabama State Auditor General Andrew Sorrell has suggested the state establish its own BTC reserve. Satoshi Fund Act founder Dennis Porter said as many as 12 states are exploring the concept.

Meanwhile, skeptics like investment doyen Charles K. Bobrinskoy have taken an anti-BTC stance, calling the asset a bubble and advising against U.S. government adoption.

Asset managers such as BlackRock have shared suggestions on Bobrinskoy’s view as billions of people pursue BTC-backed products such as spot exchange-traded funds. BlackRock said investors can allocate up to 2% to BTC; The move was confirmed by Kraken Corporate Vice President Tim Ogilvie in a note shared with crypto.news via email.

Starting with Bitcoin and now moving to Ethereum, cryptocurrencies have become the cornerstones of a balanced portfolio. While we are still very early in institutional adoption of digital assets, the trend towards at least some allocation to crypto is likely to accelerate as institutions look to catch up on performance.

Tim Ogilvie, Kraken Corporate Vice President