- HB4488 protects Texas state funds, including a potential Bitcoin reserve, from revenue sweeps.
- SB21 decision due June 22 will authorize Texas to invest in Bitcoin and large-cap crypto assets.
- Texas could follow Arizona as a state with a legally protected Bitcoin reserve fund.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has enacted House Bill 4488 (HB4488), a measure intended to protect specific state funds, including any Bitcoin reserve established outside the state treasury. This legislation prevents these allocated funds from being put into the state’s general revenue pool, ensuring their financial separation and protection.
Beyond the possible Bitcoin reserve, HB4488 explicitly identifies several funds for legal protection. These include the Texas Advanced Nuclear Development Fund and the Gulf Coast Protection Account. The bill allows these funds to be established or reestablished as distinct entities, either within or outside the state treasury, depending on the governing statutes for each fund.
Pending Decision on Bitcoin Investment Authorization
While HB4488 provides the legal protection for such a fund, the actual authorization for Texas to invest in Bitcoin now depends on a separate bill, Senate Bill 21 (SB21), which currently awaits the governor’s decision.
Governor Abbott received SB21 on June 1 and has until June 22 to either sign or veto the bill. According to Texas legislative procedures, since the bill arrived near the end of the legislative session, the governor has 20 days following adjournment to act. If no action is taken by the deadline, the bill will automatically become law.
Implications for the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
If SB21 is enacted, the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve would fall under the protections established by HB4488. This would legally safeguard the reserve from being diverted to other uses within the state’s finances.
Until then, the reserve remains a proposed entity, dependent on the passage and signing of the authorizing legislation.
A Growing Trend Among U.S. States
Texas is one of several U.S. states exploring state-level Bitcoin reserve legislation. Arizona previously enacted a law to establish a similar reserve fund. The outcome of Texas’s pending legislation is being closely watched as part of this growing trend.
At the federal level, Representative Tim Burchett has introduced a bill to codify President Donald Trump’s executive order on establishing a national Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
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