On Thursday, the Texas House of Representatives introduced legislation to create a Bitcoin strategic reserve that could serve as a testing ground for the U.S. Treasury Department.
Republican state representative Giovanni Capriglione announced at the X Spaces event on Thursday that the proposed bill would allow the state to begin building a strategic Bitcoin reserve by accepting taxes, fees and donations in Bitcoin , these Bitcoins will be retained for at least five years. The bill seeks to provide a way to strengthen the country’s fiscal stability and position it as a leader in Bitcoin innovation.
“Probably the biggest enemy of our investments is inflation,” Capriglione said. “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, investing in Bitcoin, will be a win-win for the country.”
He later said: “I just filed the bill, which is titled ‘An Act Relating to the Establishment of a Bitcoin Reserve within the Texas Department of the Treasury and the Administration of Cryptocurrencies by a Government Entity.’”
Texas is not only the second largest economy in the United States and the eighth largest economy in the world, it is also the area with the highest concentration of Bitcoin miners in the United States. Hopefully some of them start paying taxes in cryptocurrencies. The original proposal did not include a strategy to buy Bitcoin directly.
“My goal is to make this bill as broad and broad as possible,” Capriglione said. “The first step is to allow for some selectivity and flexibility, but if I can get support from other legislators, we will make it even stronger.”
Since the election, calls have grown for a national strategic Bitcoin reserve, one of President-elect Donald Trump’s crypto-friendly campaign promises. Bitcoin has rallied more than 45% as hopeful investors bet that Bitcoin’s buildup will push its price even higher.
Bitcoin has risen more than 45% since the US presidential election
Some have questioned whether the United States will actually establish a Bitcoin reserve, or if it does, it will be the first. Still, the idea could become a positive market catalyst next year and push other nation-states to establish one, whether the United States follows suit or not.
Needham’s John Todaro told CNBC that this scenario is “unlikely to happen, but would help bring animal spirits back into the market,” adding, “It’s also unlikely to drive up substance prices as we expect the U.S. government Not buying Bitcoin in any meaningful way”. But this is a project that inspires excitement and optimism. “
Meanwhile, states are keen to be the ones charting this new frontier. Porter said Pennsylvania was the first state to introduce a strategic Bitcoin reserve bill last month, and as many as 10 states and four countries are discussing introducing similar legislation in the coming months.
Porter, who worked with Capriglione to draft the bill, has also assisted lawmakers in other states with Bitcoin-related legislation.
Oklahoma, Louisiana, Montana, and Arkansas have passed laws protecting the rights to mine, self-custody, run nodes, and peer-to-peer transactions. Satoshi Action Fund So far, 30 bills have been introduced, including Pennsylvania’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act introduced last month.
In July this year, Trump told attendees at the Bitcoin 2024 conference, “It is the policy of my administration to retain 100% of all Bitcoin currently held by the United States government or acquired in the future… as the core of the National Bitcoin Strategic Reserve. ”. The meeting was held in Nashville. At the same event, Wyoming Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis unveiled her Bitcoin Act to create a National Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
About The Author
