Members of the Texas House of Representatives have unanimously passed the “Virtual Currency Bill” that seeks to recognize the legal status of digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The ball is now in the court of the Senate to make the bill a law.
Just like Wyoming, Texas is also pushing to become a major crypto hub, and Governor Greg Abbot has hinted that he is open to signing the bill into law.
Count me in as a crypto law proposal supporter. It is increasingly being used for transactions and is beginning to go mainstream as an investment. (Fidelity, etc. trying to get Bitcoin ETF).Texas should lead on this like we did with a gold depository. https://t.co/1z25mtgnmu— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) March 29, 2021
In a legislative session yesterday, the lawmakers pushed a proposed amendment to the state’s Uniform Commercial Code. The code is geared towards adapting commercial law to digital asset regulations. It was first introduced in March by Representative Tan Parker. House Bill 4474 will help define digital assets in the commercial code.
With the house of reps already passing the bill, it will now move to the Texas Senate for any proposed amendments and a possible final vote.
Looking at the crypto stance of Texas, one should expect that the bill will quickly become law. The state is already home to several crypto mining firms, including Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ:RIOT) and BlockCap. Both companies are also planning to expand their operations in the state after purchasing new facilities.