Texas House Passes Bill to Establish Bitcoin Reserve Fund

The Texas House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 21, allowing the state to establish a Bitcoin reserve. Key details include:

Vote outcome: 101-42 in the House, 25-5 in the Senate
Next step: Concurrence vote on House amendments before being sent to Governor Greg Abbott
Bill aims to enable cryptocurrency reserves for assets over $500 billion market cap
Currently, only Bitcoin meets this criterion
Reserves will be overseen by the state’s comptroller

Texas joins New Hampshire as the second U.S. state to create a Bitcoin reserve. Other states like Florida and Arizona have attempted similar initiatives but faced obstacles due to cryptocurrency volatility concerns.

Arizona's governor vetoed Senate Bill 1373, which would have allowed a BTC reserve and utilization of state funds for crypto investments, citing taxpayer money concerns. However, Arizona permits Bitcoin ATMs under strict regulations.