Texas and Bitcoin: Forging a State Crypto Reserve?

sallieaquino
27.11.2025
News

The American state of Texas capitalized on the latest Bitcoin downturn and accumulated a total of ten million USD in Bitcoin exposure on November 20th. Of that amount, an initial five million USD was put into the BlackRock ETF IBIT, with another five million set aside for a direct Bitcoin purchase under their own custody.
According to Lee Bratcher from the Texas Blockchain Council, the state is still concluding the self-custody arrangement, which explains why the ETF was used for the initial portion. The money originates from general state funds, although the entire ten million USD hasn’t been used up to this point.
Commentators like Pierre Rochard view this action as a sign of a change in the political climate within the United States, moving away from past hesitations towards proactive government acquisition of Bitcoin. It’s uncertain if this purchase is directly linked to Texas’ strategy for a state-held Bitcoin reserve, which was enabled by legislation sanctioned in June by Governor Greg Abbott. According to this law, the reserve can only hold assets exceeding a market cap of $500 billion. ETFs like IBIT don’t fulfill this condition.
Texas is also weighing the option of adding Ethereum to its state reserve, contingent on its market capitalization remaining above $500 billion for a minimum of 24 months. Through this action, Texas aligns with notable IBIT investors, such as Harvard and Abu Dhabi. However, Texas is not the first US state to buy IBIT. Wisconsin invested approximately $100 million in the Bitcoin ETF earlier in 2024.
Increasingly, US states are identifying Bitcoin as a potential component in their long-range financial planning. Following years where digital assets were mainly characterized by discussions about regulation, governmental Bitcoin reserve plans are now in the spotlight. Texas stands out as one of the first states not only to establish legal structures but also to deliberately assign funds to procure BTC as a strategic asset.

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