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Source: Twitter @BitcoinNewsCom; Compiled by: Tao Zhu, Bitchain Vision
The Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 21 (SB-21) with a huge advantage, a big step in integrating digital assets into the state’s financial system.
The Texas Senate voted 25-5 to pass the Texas Bitcoin Reserves Act, which allows the state to invest public funds in bitcoin and other digital assets.The bill will now be brought to the Texas House for debate and then to Gov. Abbott.
Senator Charles Schwertner, who introduced the bill, said Bitcoin could hedge inflation well.
“We don’t have piles of dollar bills and safes like we did in the Middle Ages. What we have is digital currency,” Schwertner said during the Senate debate.He also compared Bitcoin to gold, saying its limited supply can maintain value during uncertain times.
According to SB-21, the Texas Comptroller will manage Bitcoin reserves.The bill allows the state to hold digital assets with a total market capitalization of at least $500 billion.Currently, Bitcoin is the only asset that meets this requirement.
Funding will come from legislative appropriations as well as private and corporate contributions.The bill also sets up the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Advisory Committee, which will oversee investments and publish reports every two years to ensure transparency and accountability.
Unlike other state proposals, SB-21 has bipartisan support in Texas.Many Democrats and Republicans voted for it.
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick strongly supports the bill, saying:“Bitcoin is often compared to digital gold, and it is a key asset for Texas to move forward due to its fixed supply and decentralized structure.”
But not everyone believes it.Democratic Senator Roland Gutierrez is concerned about the volatility of Bitcoin and wants to know why public funds are used to make the investment.
“When the economy is down, Bitcoin will also fall, and the volatility of this kind of thing is crazy,” he said.Gutierrez also expressed concerns about the lack of regulation in the Bitcoin sector, saying the investment was a gamble.
Texas’s Bitcoin reserves are about to be launched, while other states such as Arizona and New Hampshire are also looking at similar measures.
Some states have faced obstacles due to fiscally conservative legislators, but Texas’s approach — allowing but not requiring the purchase of Bitcoin — makes it more bipartisan.
At the federal level, interest in state-controlled Bitcoin reserves is also growing.President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order to establish the U.S. Bitcoin strategic reserve.
SB-21 has been passed in the Senate, but the struggle is not over yet.It still needs to pass the Texas House, when it faces a larger, more divided institution.
The Texas House of Representatives has 89 Republicans and 62 Democrats, and while many Republicans support Bitcoin-friendly policies, similar bills in other states face intra-party resistance.
If the bill passes in the House and is signed by Gov. Abbott, Texas will become the first state in the United States to establish a Bitcoin reserve.This could open the door for other states to follow suit and promote wider adoption of digital assets in public finance.
