Bitcoin Strategic Asset Reserve Bill Proposed in Texas

A bill has been proposed in Texas that would require virtual currency Bitcoin to be stockpiled as a strategic asset for the state.

U.S. Republican state representative Giovanni Caprigione submitted a bill to the Texas Legislature named the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Stockpiling Act.

The bill would allow the state to pay taxes, administrative agency fees and donations in Bitcoin and allow the state to hold them for at least five years to stockpile them as a major source of funding.

"Bitcoin's decentralized nature and limited supply offer unique excellence that can be a defense against inflation and economic volatility," Caprigione argued.

"The strategic Bitcoin stockpile is in line with the state's commitment to drive innovation in digital assets and provide better financial stability for Texas residents," he added.

However, the bill does not include the state's direct purchase of bitcoin.

Texas is the second-largest state in the U.S. after California, and also has the largest concentration of bitcoin miners in the country.

U.S. economic media CNBC pointed out that the purpose of the Bitcoin stockpile bill may be to make these miners pay some of their taxes in Bitcoin.

It also predicted that the move to stockpile Bitcoin as a strategic asset in several states in the U.S., including Texas, could be a positive catalyst for boosting the virtual currency market.

CNBC said Texas is not the first state where such a bill has been proposed, and Pennsylvania was the first to be proposed last month.

The nonprofit Bitcoin advocacy group Satoshi Action Fund, which participated in the proposal, explained that more than 10 states are currently in discussions to create similar legislation.