Texas SB 21 | Bitcoin Reserve Bill Signed into Law

On June 21, 2025, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 21 (SB 21) into law, creating the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve — a state-managed fund that will buy and hold bitcoin as a long-term investment.

Texas joins Arizona and New Hampshire in passing bitcoin reserve legislation but is the first to actually commit public funds and create a separate reserve outside the state treasury. Senator Charles Schwertner, the bill’s author said:

“We can buy land, we can buy gold; I think the state of Texas should have the option of evaluating the best performing asset over the last 10 years,”

The new reserve is separate from the state’s general treasury so the state can manage its bitcoin without mixing it with regular state budget funds.

It will be overseen by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, currently Glenn Hegar, and guided by a 3-person advisory committee of bitcoin investment experts.

The fund will be financed through legislative appropriations, investment gains, fees and voluntary bitcoin donations.

To ensure stability, the law allows investment only in digital assets with a market capitalization over $500 billion — a threshold only met by bitcoin.

SB 21 was reviewed and updated before final passage. The latest version has stronger risk controls, clearer investment rules and limits on speculative spending.

Another bill, House Bill 4488 was signed earlier and works alongside SB 21 to protect the bitcoin reserve from being redirected into the general revenue fund.

Texas can manage its bitcoin separate from budget politics thanks to its financial safeguards. HB 4488 also ensures the reserve will exist even if no bitcoin is purchased immediately so the state can develop a strategy.

Supporters of the reserve say it’s a hedge against inflation and a way to diversify the state’s assets. Lawmakers and Bitcoin advocates believe it will keep Texas ahead in the digital finance game.

Governor Abbott has been vocal about his pro-Bitcoin stance. “Texas is already the home of crypto mining,” he posted last year. “This session, Texas should become the crypto capital.”

Texas Blockchain Council President Lee Bratcher said the state could invest “tens of millions of dollars” in bitcoin.

“It’s still early,” he said, “and the comptroller is going to utilize proven investing standards to determine how much to buy, when to purchase.”

Texas is moving forward while others are pulling back. In May, Florida and Arizona both killed or vetoed bitcoin reserve bills. Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs called digital assets “untested investments” and killed the state’s bill there.

But Texas stands alone in creating a fully-funded bitcoin reserve, unlike Arizona’s unfunded version or New Hampshire’s plan to hold bitcoin in the existing state treasury.

Beyond government, bitcoin adoption is booming in businesses. According to BitcoinTreasuries, over 223 public companies now hold bitcoin, up from 124 earlier this year. Together they hold nearly 819,000 BTC or 3.9% of the total supply.

Strategy, led by Michael Saylor, is the largest corporate holder with over 580,000 BTC. Other big players include Twenty One Capital and Marathon Digital Holdings.