Texas State Representative Introduces Bill to Create Bitcoin Reserve
2024-12-13
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A State Representative in Texas just introduced legislation to establish a strategic Bitcoin Reserve. This bill is part of a growing trend to introduce similar reserves in several states and internationally.
State Representative Giovanni Gapriglione suggests taxes, fees, and donations could fill this reserve but claims that Texas could purchase Bitcoin directly with enough political support.
A Texas Bitcoin Reserve
According to CNBC reports, this pro-crypto legislation would allow the State of Texas to build a Bitcoin Reserve. However, the bill does not include a proviso for direct BTC purchases by the state.
Instead, it would allow the state to receive taxes, fees, and donations in Bitcoin. Texas is a major regional mining hub, so several firms may be willing to make these payments.
“My goal is to make this bill as big and as broad as possible. This initial step is to allow some optionality and flexibility on it but if I am able to get support from other legislators, we will make it even stronger,” claimed Republican State Representative Giovanni Capriglione, who initially filed the bill.
Capriglione’s bill is inspired by President-elect Trump’s stated plan to establish a national Bitcoin Reserve. The largest cryptocurrency has rallied to new heights following his re-election, reaching the $100,000 milestone earlier in December. Also, the US is already the largest BTC holder, which was accumulated from the Silk Road seized funds.
However, President Biden may begin selling off this existing BTC supply during his lame-duck period. Notorious Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff encouraged this move.
Even if Trump’s plan to create a national Bitcoin Reserve is thwarted in the next month, several states are also pursuing independent initiatives. Florida’s Chief Financial Officer proposed another state-level reserve in October, and there’s a similar bill in Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives.
This trend is also growing internationally. Last month, a presidential candidate in Poland’s upcoming election vowed to implement a Bitcoin Reserve if elected. A Representative in the Russian State Duma filed a similar bill this week. In other words, there could be a counterweight to arguments against a US Bitcoin Reserve.
After all, if several countries are creating national reserves, it would be disadvantageous to deliberately kneecap the US. In any event, Capriglione’s effort to create a reserve in Texas could serve as a bellwether. The state is heavily controlled by Trump’s party, but will its rank-and-file representatives support Bitcoin? Only time will tell.