House Bill 1598, introduced by Texas Representative Giovanni Capriglione on Dec. 12, outlines a plan to establish a Bitcoin reserve within the state treasury. The bill, titled the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act, details the state comptroller’s responsibilities for managing Bitcoin as a financial asset, including provisions for secure storage and a long-term holding strategy.

Under the proposed legislation, the Texas comptroller would acquire and manage Bitcoin as a reserve asset to diversify the state’s financial holdings. The Bitcoin reserve would need to be maintained for a minimum of five years, underscoring the long-term strategic intent of this proposal. To safeguard these assets, the bill mandates the use of cold storage methods, ensuring that private keys remain isolated from network connections and protected in secure physical locations.

The legislation emphasizes the potential of Bitcoin to serve as a financial diversification tool within the state treasury, aligning with broader trends of integrating digital assets into traditional finance. The comptroller’s role would also include ongoing oversight of the Bitcoin reserve to ensure compliance with the specified storage and management requirements.

The Texas legislature is scheduled to reconvene for its 89th regular session on Jan. 14, 2025, at which point House Bill 1598 will be considered. If enacted, the legislation could position Texas as a leader among U.S. states in adopting blockchain technology and digital assets for state-level financial management.

On July 27, Donald Trump delivered a keynote address at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee, signaling a significant shift in his stance toward cryptocurrencies. He lauded Bitcoin as an unparalleled technological marvel and a testament to human cooperation, predicting it would eventually surpass gold in market capitalization.

Trump proposed that all Bitcoin mining occur within the United States, aiming to establish the nation as the world’s leading Bitcoin superpower.

He also affirmed the right to self-custody of crypto assets and pledged to dismiss SEC Chair Gary Gensler on his first day in office, should he win the upcoming presidential election.

Trump assured that future crypto regulations would be crafted by individuals supportive of the industry’s growth. He advocated for a regulatory framework for dollar-backed stablecoins to strengthen the U.S. dollar, asserting that Bitcoin does not threaten the dollar; rather, current government policies do. Expressing optimism about the crypto market’s future, Trump noted that the U.S. government holds a substantial amount of Bitcoin and committed to retaining all current and future holdings.