On a historic day for the crypto world, Texas state legislators approved the second reading of the Bitcoin reserve proposal. In this way, this federal entity takes a significant step on its path to regulating cryptocurrencies. In particular, it could be one of the pioneering states to adopt BTC for its local treasury.
Since Donald Trump's rise to power, the idea of incorporating the largest cryptocurrency into reserves went viral. Politicians at all levels in the United States, especially Republicans, began a real crusade to give BTC a place in various state instances.
From that party, they are fully convinced that turning this digital asset into a strategic reserve is a providential decision. Some representatives like Cynthia Lummis claim that storing BTC for several decades will help pay off the United States' debt.
Amidst this frenzy of American politicians, representatives from Texas are pushing forward the Bitcoin reserve bill. According to local media, the proposal is now moving to the third phase and could then go to the governor's office for probable signing.
According to Republican Party legislators like Giovanni Capriglione, this proposal is a 'forward-looking measure.' He adds that the law will strengthen the fiscal position of the state of Texas.
Will Texas have a strategic reserve of Bitcoin?
The fact that the state House approves a proposal is not a total guarantee of its conversion into law. This was experienced by the proponents of a similar proposal in the state of Arizona. In that entity, legislators approved a proposal to make BTC a strategic reserve.
However, despite having gone through the entire legislative process, Governor Katie Hobbs refused to grant her signature. This ban came into effect under the argument that Bitcoin is an unproven investment. The governor stated that this could jeopardize the stability of the state's pension funds.
However, it is important to emphasize that there are vast differences between the governors of Arizona and Texas. In the former case, it is a Democratic governor, that is, from the party that waged war against innovation during the Biden administration.
Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbott belongs to the Republican Party. For years, this politician has been one of the biggest supporters of crypto businesses like digital mining. Texas is the largest region in the world in computing power or hash rate of the Bitcoin blockchain. With this in mind, it can be said that there are enormous chances that the governor will stamp his signature on the particular Bitcoin reserve proposal.
It is important to mention that this proposal faces numerous critics in the state. They argue that BTC is an asset of enormous volatility, which poses a risk to the state's stability.
