Texas will establish a Bitcoin reserve independent of the Treasury.

Gate News bot message, on June 20, Texas Governor Gregg Abbot officially enacted SB 21, proposing the establishment of a strategic Bitcoin reserve for investing in the digital asset market. The bill has now become law, drafted by Senator Charles Schwertner, which stipulates that the proposed Bitcoin reserve will exist outside the state treasury but still under the investment authority of the public account auditor.

In addition, the reserve can hold Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as specified by the auditor. However, only cryptocurrencies with an average market value of 500 billion dollars within 12 months can enter the reserve, effectively limiting the entry of Bitcoin ($2.07 trillion) and Ethereum ($272.3 billion).

At the same time, all actions to invest reserves into the state treasury require authorization from the legislative body through a general appropriations bill or other laws. However, the auditor general may extract Bitcoin or use the net proceeds from asset sales to cover all costs associated with managing the reserves.

In addition to SB 21, Governor Abbott also signed a separate bill, HB 4488, which prohibits strategic Bitcoin reserves and certain other state funds from undergoing regular treasury fund audits, while ensuring the legal existence of reserves even without purchasing Bitcoin until the summer of 2026.