As reported by The Center Square:
(The Center Square) – Texas may soon allow state money to be invested in cryptocurrency.
State Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, filed SB 21, the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Investment Act, which would create a new reserve to invest in digital currency.
The bill states that “bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are assets with strategic potential for enhancing this state ’s financial resilience” and “can serve as a hedge against inflation and economic volatility.” Establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve will benefit Texas residents by “providing enhanced financial security,” it says.
The bill passed the Texas Senate Thursday with bipartisan support.
The reserve would operate as a special fund outside the state treasury and be managed by the state comptroller’s office. It would receive funds transferred or deposited by a legislative appropriation; by dedicated revenue from the legislature; by bitcoin and other cryptocurrency purchased using money in or received by the reserve; by a fork of a distributed ledger; by a distribution from an airdrop to the state ’s cryptocurrency addresses; by investment earnings and interest or rewards earned on assets in the reserve; and by gifts, grants, and other donations to the reserve.
At a Senate Business & Commerce Committee hearing, Schwertner said the bill sends “a clear message regarding the decades long spendthrift stewardship of our country by the federal government.”
Individuals and investment firms have responded to the federal government’s uncontrollable spending “by seeking alternatives to fiat currency. These alternatives have historically included gold and land but now include many cryptocurrencies,” he said.
The U.S. Treasury Department refers to Bitcoin “as digital gold” and it’s become a recognized asset in the financial markets, he said. Individuals directly hold Bitcoin assets or invest in them through publicly listed Securities and Exchange Commission-regulated Bitcoin ETF’s traded on U.S. stock exchanges.
“Bitcoin offers unique advantages in the digital era due to its limited supply and decentralized nature in contrast to the federal government, which has a unlimited printing press and centralized control of the currency,” Schwertner said. The bill will allow Texas “to diversify our investment approach, participate competitively in the digital financial economy and leverage the benefits of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.”
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