Texas Bitcoin Reserve Bill Passes Committee 9-0

Texas’ Bitcoin Reserve proposal was unanimously passed by the Business and Commerce Committee and will proceed to a Senate vote.

However, several similar bills were handily defeated in other Republican-controlled states. Even Texas’ GOP is not unified behind the effort, and it might not succeed in the Senate.

Can Texas Pass a Bitcoin Reserve?

Several US states are trying to pass their own Bitcoin Reserves, which would make them major BTC holders. When these bills first started being introduced, the crypto community was ecstatic because they would guarantee up to $23 billion in new acquisitions.

Today, one more Bitcoin Reserve effort moved forward, thanks to a Committee in Texas:

“The committee sub for SB 21 [the Bitcoin Reserve bill] just passed the Business and Commerce Committee by a 9-0 vote. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve heading to the Senate floor,” claimed Brad Johnson, a local reporter.

When a proposal passes a committee vote, it means that a small group of legislators specializing in the subject matter—here, the Business and Commerce Committee—has reviewed it and agreed that it merits further consideration.

Once the proposal passes the committee stage, it moves to the full Senate. This is when all senators debate and vote on it. If a majority of senators support the proposal, it can proceed toward becoming law.

This news from Texas is a particular relief because it’s a fresh win for all Bitcoin Reserve legislation efforts. At the beginning of the month, they had strong momentum, with Utah making major progress.

However, Montana rejected its own Reserve bill, and this was followed by several other red states. In other words, it’s the first major crack in crypto’s new political coalition.

Texas’ new Lieutenant Governor strongly supports the Bitcoin Reserve bill, which has surely helped its chances. Wyoming’s legislative effort didn’t make it through the Committee despite one of the state’s Senators heavily supporting it.

One key factor that may help this legislation is that Texas is one of the US’ largest Bitcoin mining hubs. Currently, the bill does not explicitly mandate that Texas buy these assets from local businesses, but it easily could.

Presently, though, the recent proposal defeats in various red states are stinging. It’s still very unclear what the bill’s chances are.