Governor Greg Abbott Signs Bill SB 21, Making Texas the Third State with a State-Level Bitcoin Reserve Fund.
Texas has become the third state in the United States to pass a law establishing a strategic state-level Bitcoin reserve fund, after Governor Greg Abbott officially signed Bill SB 21 on Saturday. This move marks an important step in the trend of local governments in the US adopting Bitcoin as part of their financial strategy.
Texas follows Arizona and New Hampshire in establishing a state-managed Bitcoin reserve fund, however, Texas is the first state to establish an independent fund using public budget, separate from the state treasury. The fund will be managed by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, led by Glenn Hegar.
State Senator Charles Schwertner, the bill's author, previously stated in February: "We can buy land, we can buy gold; I believe Texas should have the right to evaluate the best-performing asset in the past 10 years." This perspective reflects the recognition of Bitcoin's superior investment performance over the past decade.
Protection Mechanism and Expected Investment Scale
Abbott also signed Bill HB 4488, which specifies the protection mechanism for the Bitcoin reserve fund and other state funds from periodic capital transfers from the budget to the general fund. Additionally, the law ensures the legal existence of the fund, even if no Bitcoin is purchased before next summer.
Lee Bratcher, founder and President of Texas Blockchain Council, previously told The Block that he predicted Abbott would sign the bill, and estimated that Texas could invest tens of millions of dollars in Bitcoin. "I think the investment figure will be in the tens of millions of dollars – it may sound large, but it's actually quite modest compared to the scale of Texas," Bratcher said.
He emphasized that it is still very early, and the comptroller's office will apply tested investment standards to decide how much to buy and when. "That is entirely in the hands of financial experts at the comptroller's office," he explained.
Notably, neither Bill SB 21 nor HB 4488 appeared in the press release from Governor Abbott's office announcing the list of 16 "essential" bills, despite him signing a total of 334 bills on Saturday. This suggests that establishing a Bitcoin reserve fund, although significant, is still considered one of the state's many policy initiatives.
