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Texas is now within a single, silent procedural heartbeat of creating the nation’s largest government-run stash of bitcoin. Senate Bill 21, the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Investment Act, was dispatched to Gov. Greg Abbott on June 1 after clearing both chambers by wide margins.
Under Article IV, Section 14 of the Texas Constitution, the governor has twenty days after final adjournment to sign or veto a bill; failing to do either renders the measure law automatically. Because the 89th Legislature adjourned sine die on June 2, the deadline falls on Sunday, June 22. Legislative reference staff have already flagged that date as the last day the governor may act before “no-signature” enactment applies.
The countdown was publicised early Tuesday by the policy-watch account @Bitcoin_Laws, which reminded followers: “The deadline for Governor Abbott to sign (or veto) Bitcoin Reserve Bill SB 21 is this Sunday, June 22. If he does neither, it will automatically become law according to the Texas Constitution.”
Dennis Porter, chief executive of the Satoshi Act Fund and a lead strategist behind similar bills nationwide, framed the stakes more broadly: “Earlier this year, New Hampshire and Arizona became the 1st and 2nd states to pass ‘Strategic Bitcoin Reserve’ legislation into law. Texas is poised to be the third… Do not sleep on the states.”
The eight-page statute creates a “special fund outside the state treasury” called the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, controlled by the Comptroller of Public Accounts. SB 21 allows the State Treasurer to invest in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies with a large market cap, specifically those with a 12-month average of at least $500 billion.
The comptroller gains explicit authority to hire qualified custodians using cold-storage technology, contract for independent audits, employ derivatives for hedging and — if cash-flow exigencies arise — liquidate coins temporarily to shore up the general treasury, with a statutory obligation to replace funds quickly. A five-member advisory committee (the comptroller plus four appointees) will recommend allocation and risk-management policies and must publish a biennial reserve report every even-numbered year.
Originally filed on February 12 by Sen. Charles Schwertner, SB 21 received unanimous Senate approval on March 6, survived a handful of House amendments in May, and won final passage in a late-night conference report adopted by the House 110-25 and the Senate 23-8 on May 30. It was enrolled and transmitted to the governor the following day. The bill was designated a session priority by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and carried in the House by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione.
Schwertner has cast the reserve as “a hedge against inflation” and a way to cement Texas’s reputation as “the crypto capital.” Comptroller Glenn Hegar, whose office will run the programme, told a Senate committee that “pioneering a strategic bitcoin reserve is a natural step for Texas,” adding that the measure “takes a measured approach to managing a potentially volatile asset, a critical requirement when investing taxpayer dollars.”
Abbott himself has not opined publicly, but his press secretary Andrew Mahaleris said in late May that the governor “looks forward to reviewing this proposal.”
If SB 21 clears the constitutional clock on Sunday, Texas will join New Hampshire — whose HB 302 authorises up to five percent of certain public funds to be invested in assets exceeding $500 billion in market cap — and Arizona, where HB 2749 redirects proceeds from unclaimed property into bitcoin, both enacted in early May.
