Texas is the latest US state to incorporate cryptocurrency and blockchain technology into its business legislation. Texas House Bills 1576 and 4474, approved by the state legislature in May and Governor Greg Abbott in June, make cryptocurrency legal in Texas beginning in September 2021.
House Bill 1576 focuses on the formation of a working group to supervise the growth of the blockchain sector in Texas. “The workgroup should, in creating the master plan, explore economic growth and development possibilities offered by blockchain technology…”
[and] offer any legislative suggestions that would aid in the promotion of innovation and economic development by lowering obstacles to and hastening the establishment of the state’s blockchain industry.” House Bill 4474 amends the state’s Uniform Commercial Code, which governs commercial transactions in Texas, to include a definition of the word “virtual money.”
Section 9.102 of the Business and Commerce Code is amended by adding Subsection (29-a), which reads as follows: “Virtual currency” means a digital representation of value that functions as a medium of exchange, unit of account, and/or store of value and is frequently secured using blockchain technology.
Notably, according to Lee Bratcher, president of the Texas Blockchain Council, House Bill 4474 enables “institutional investors to become engaged with large investments.”
