‘Proof of Reserve’ bill passes in Texas House of Representatives

April 21, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Digital asset providers would be restricted from comingling customer funds with any other type of operational capital.

The Texas House of Representatives approved a bill that would require crypto exchanges to maintain reserves “in an amount sufficient to fulfill all obligations to customers” on April 20.

Should the bill pass the Senate and receive the governor’s signature, it could become law by September 1, 2023.

The bill introduces amendments to the Texan Finance Code, namely to its Section 160. According to these amendments, digital asset providers that serve more than 500 customers in the state and have at least $10 million of customer funds would be restricted from comingling the customer funds with any other type of operational capital and using customer funds for any other transactions besides the original transaction, demanded by the customer.

In addition, the provider would have to hold reserves in an amount enough to immediately let all the possible withdrawals. It should also “create a plan” to allow auditors to review the information made available to the customer.

By the 90th day after the end of each fiscal year, an exchange will need to file a report about its outstanding liability to customers with the State Banking Department. The report should also include and attestation by the auditor.

If the provider fails to comply with the requirements, the Banking Department would have a right to revoke its license.

In the aftermath of 2022’s market failures, Texas took a cautious approach toward crypto. On April 12, the state’s Senate approved a bill aimed at largely removing incentives for local crypto miners.

Texas Lawmaker Launches Resolution to Protect Bitcoin Investors, Support BTC Economy

March 23, 2023 Bitcoin.com

Crypto mining can benefit Texas energy industry: Comptroller’s office

August 24, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin mining

Given the unique positioning of the crypto mining market, Texas officials believe miners can participate in demand response programs — which involve turning off miners’ power during peak demand.

The United States filled in the wide gap in Bitcoin (BTC) mining that was left open by China by the end of June 2021. Despite looming rumors of high power consumption, officials in Texas, one of the fastest growing crypto mining hubs in the US, now believe that mining operations can, in fact, garner a symbiotic relationship with the energy industry.

A newsletter from the Texas Comptroller’s office revealed the state’s pro-crypto stance with the intent to host long-term miners and operators. Clarifying the general misconception about Bitcoin’s energy usage, the fiscal note highlighted that unlike “manufacturing facilities or industrial chemical plants, which can be expected to be around for decades,” cryptocurrency mining facilities do not place big electrical demands on the grid.

With greater crypto miners moving into Texas, concerns around power demand remain as the sudden surge threatens to disturb the balance between supply and demand. While other power-hungry industries often continue production amid market fluctuations, one of the concerns raised in the newsletter by Texas-based research associate Joshua Rhodes was:

“The difference is that Bitcoin mines (mining facilities) can come in so fast and may be gone so fast depending on the price of Bitcoin.”

Given the unique positioning of the crypto mining market, Texas officials believe miners can participate in demand response programs — which involve turning off miners’ power during peak demand. This process is widely adopted by energy-intensive industries such as petrochemical plants.

Moreover, the study envisioned that increased mining operations could spur additional energy infrastructure, especially in remote areas of West Texas.

A prolonged bear market brought down mining revenue to record lows in June 2022. However, data from blockchain.com showed that BTC mining revenue jumped nearly 69% in one month — from $13.928 million on July 13 to $23.488 million on Aug. 12.

In addition, lower mining equipment (GPU) prices have now allowed BTC miners to upgrade and expand their mining rigs as they pursue mining the last 2 million BTC.

Texas a Bitcoin ‘hot spot’ even as heat waves affect crypto miners

July 26, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Analysis

Extreme heat won’t stop miners from setting up operations in Texas, but more sustainable practices may be required.

Record-breaking heat waves are being documented across the world as extreme weather is worsening due to climate change. States throughout America are continuing to see temperatures rise above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), while the United Kingdom recently saw temperatures reach 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius).

While hot climates may be unusual for many of these regions, Texas — a state notorious for its boiling summers — is experiencing hotter-than-usual temperatures. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) recently stated that Texas’ power load demand has been breaking records consistently this month.

Unsurprisingly, Texas’ continuous heat wave is having a major impact on crypto miners located throughout the Lone Star State. As Cointelegraph recently reported, a number of miners in Texas had to cease operations entirely earlier this month in order to accommodate Texas’ energy grid load.

Lee Bratcher, president of the Texas Blockchain Council, told Cointelegraph that there are about 10 industrial-scale crypto miners and 20 smaller-scale miners currently located in the region.

Earlier this month, ERCOT asked businesses and residents to voluntarily conserve electricity during the Texas heat wave. A Riot Blockchain spokesperson told Cointelegraph that its Whinstone facility in Rockdale is now participating in ERCOT’s Four Coincident Peak program, noting that the facility will curtail all power to help stabilize the grid during peak hours of demand. “As part of Riot’s participation in the program, in June the company curtailed energy consumption for a total of 8,648 megawatt hours,” the spokesperson said.

Peter Wall, CEO of Argo Blockchain — a crypto mining company that recently opened a data center in West Texas — also told Cointelegraph that the company curtails mining operations when ERCOT sends out a conservation alert. On July 19, 2022, he said that Agro had to undergo this, along with many other mining operators in the area.

As a result, Bitcoin (BTC) miners saw the biggest drop in computing power on July 21, 2022, since China banned crypto mining in May 2021. This came as a surprise to industry experts who would have expected the Bitcoin hash rate difficulty to increase based on current trends. Frank Holmes, CEO of Hive Blockchain Technology — a publicly traded crypto mining company with operations in Canada and Europe — told Cointelegraph that Bitcoin’s hash rate difficulty was supposed to rise 3% each month based on financial models, but that this hasn’t been the case due to a number of reasons. He said:

“As the price of Bitcoin fell, many S9 mining machines went off, or electricity surged and miners had to stop operations. But more importantly, many machines that were going to be plugged in are now unable to be utilized, which has also made the difficulty go down.”

Holmes noted that the drop in Bitcoin computing power has been beneficial for Hive since their facilities have not been impacted by climate change or other factors. He added that new mining machines are being delivered to Hive each month and that slots are being filled to accommodate growth. Yet, Holmes shared that Hive continues to scout out locations to establish its next mining facility in Texas, which will serve as the company’s first U.S. establishment.

Despite Texas’ extreme weather conditions on miners, Holmes explained that Hive’s method of using 100% green energy to mine both Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) will not disrupt the state’s power grid. Holmes elaborated that Hive’s future Texas facility will operate as a solar wind farm, which will not be subject to ERCOT’s regulations. “There are various locations in Texas that have the infrastructure we require for this. There are also credits to ensure that we build a solar farm.”

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While Holmes is confident that Hive will soon operate in Texas, he explained that the company has big ambitions for the facility, noting that it would require 300 megawatts of power. Given this, Holmes explained that Hive is being cautious about setting up in Texas too quickly, noting that a large-scale mining operation is risky when it comes to delivering on time. “We don’t want to scare communities or disappoint our shareholders,” he remarked.

Issac Holyoak, chief communications officer of CleanSpark — a sustainable Bitcoin mining and technology company — also told Cointelegraph that the firm is planning to open a mining facility in West Texas. While the bulk of CleanSpark’s miners is located in Georgia, Holyoak explained that the company has a co-location agreement in West Texas with the energy company, Lancium. He said:

“Lancium performs controlled load response, so they build large data centers that can power up or down based on the power supply curve. If there is a lot of energy required due to a hot afternoon, they can power down to compensate for this. Alternatively, if there is a low demand for energy, they can power up and mine Bitcoin.”

According to Holyoak, CleanSpark and Lancium’s Texas-based mining facility will launch in December of this year. Like Hive, Holyoak noted that CleanSpark has been benefiting from miners in Texas shutting down since there is less network competition. But, he believes it’s beneficial for the company to have operations in Texas due to the abundance of renewable energy in the region, along with the welcoming nature of counties looking to bring in additional commerce from mining operations.

“It’s a very unique market and it does have renewable resources that are extremely important to sustainable miners,” he said. With locations in Georgia and a few in upstate New York, Holyoak added that it’s important for CleanSpark and other miners to diversify their locations, noting that climate change and other extreme weather events can happen anywhere.

Will sustainable mining help Texas miners?

Even though Texas-based miners are being impacted by severe heat, Holmes believes that many of them are handling the situation well by powering off when needed. However, as more sustainable miners enter the state, already established operators may want to reconsider their mining techniques.

For example, Holmes explained that Hive educates authorities in the regions where they are based to help them understand their long-term environmental, social and governance targets. He said:

“In Quebec, we have a 40,000 square foot building with 30 megawatts of electricity, and we send the heat generated from our ASIC mining machines to heat 200 square feet of the building. The energy is recycled and is meant to accommodate the unique building structures in New Brunswick.”

This being the case, Holmes noted that having a long-term sustainable vision when it comes to mining can be very beneficial. He added that Hive’s Sweden location has software that ensures the company’s mining operations are down between the hours of 7–9 a.m. and 5–7 p.m., five days a week. “These are sensitive, peak demand times. We have a strategic relationship with the region to ensure our operations stop when needed,” said Holmes. He further shared that Hive mines about 9.8 BTC and 100 ETH per day.

Taking a different approach, CleanSpark uses immersion cooling to mine Bitcoin. Matthew Schultz, executive chairman of CleanSpark, told Cointelegraph that the company is among the first large-scale data centers of its type in North America to purchase immersion cooling infrastructure for their Norcross mining facility. He explained:

“Immersion cooling is a technique that we use for Bitcoin mining. The mining machines are prepared via the removal of their fans and submerged in tanks of biodegradable mineral oil. This increases mining efficiency by an estimated 20%. The oil is recycled through the facility and re-used while running through a heat exchanger that keeps the temperature around 125 degrees F.”

Holyoak added that most fan-based mining operations are kept cold by using ambient air, so hotter climates will impact the performance of machines, but immersion cooling can help mitigate this factor.

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He noted that immersion cooling will not be impacted by excessive heat. However, heat waves can spike energy prices which in turn may make it uneconomical to run machines. According to Holyoak, this is likely the case with Riot, as the company announced last year the use of immersion cooling at their Whinstone facility.

All things considered, industry experts believe that utilizing clean energy sources will help miners prevail against climate change. Elliot David, carbon management specialist at Sustainable Bitcoin Protocol — a company that verifies sustainable Bitcoin mining practices — told Cointelegraph that based on recent events, every mining company will have to think about climate resilience, whether they are based in a hot climate like Texas or cold climates like Norway:

“Utilizing clean energy sources is also an important solution because while they are intermittent, energy systems are all really exercises in balance. The grid has to meet demand with supply, and flexible loads such as Bitcoin make those balancing acts much easier.”

Bitcoin miners believe global hash rate to grow ‘aggressively’

January 30, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Analysis

Despite the price of BTC, the Bitcoin network is the strongest it’s ever been, according to industry experts.

Bitcoin (BTC) seems to be on everyone’s mind lately as the world recently witnessed the price of BTC take a rather unexpected bearish turn this month. On January 21, 2022, Bitcoin reached six-month lows, sinking below $40,000 for the first time in months.

While some panicked, other industry experts pointed out that the Bitcoin network has become verifiably stronger than ever before. The growth of the Bitcoin network has become apparent, as hash rate figures for BTC continue to set new highs this month. For example, on Jan. 22, the BTC network recorded an all-time high of 26.643 trillion with an average hash rate of 190.71 exahash per second (EH/s).

The hash rate will continue to grow, which is a good thing

Samir Tabar, chief strategy officer at Bit Digital — a publicly listed Bitcoin miner — told Cointelegraph that the BTC hash rate refers to the amount of computing power being contributed to the network at any given time. Tabar explained that when it comes to Bitcoin mining, a higher hash rate equates to a good hash rate. “The more computing power going towards maintaining a network, the more secure it will be and the more transactions it will be able to handle,” said Tabar.

As such, the recent hash rate figures for Bitcoin are extremely notable, even with the price of BTC being down. Peter Wall, CEO of crypto mining firm Argo Blockchain, told Cointelegraph that he wasn’t surprised to see the BTC hash rate hit close to 200 EH/s. Wall further stated that even with events that have recently disrupted BTC mining hash rate like the political upheaval in Kazakhstan, the hash rate will continue to grow higher each month:

“Argo Blockchain’s mining margin last year in 2021, which is our revenue minus our direct costs, was over 80%. It was a very good year for miners. In 2020, where BTC prices were much lower, our margin was 41%. So, this year I think we will still see strong margins in the space despite the recent drop in the price of Bitcoin and the increase in the hash rate.”

Darin Feinstein, co-founder and co-chairman of Core Scientific — a major publicly-traded blockchain infrastructure provider — told Cointelegraph that based on previous Bitcoin mining hash rate data, the BTC network grew by 200% following the mass exodus of miners from China:

“The Bitcoin network one year ago was approximately 143 EH/s. Following the mining ban in China, the network fell to 63 EH/s. Today, the hash rate has grown to approximately 198 EH/s. This recent increase represents three important metrics. One, it represents a 130 EH hash rate increase on the network. Two, it represents 130 EH of new hosting infrastructure and primarily new generation hardware deployment and three, this deployment has taken place in geographic regions that use far cleaner energy than the energy used in China.”

With this in mind, Feinstein noted that even though the BTC network has hit all-time highs in terms of EH/s, due to the massive improvements in miner chip technology and geographic distribution away from China, the network is now the most efficient and sustainable than it has ever been. Feinstein added that this data is important because it shows how much energy every terahash uses, which is generally represented by a metric called jules/terahash. He noted that this ratio has fallen greatly over the last several years, demonstrating a major increase in mining energy efficiency.

*Bitcoin mining efficiency chart. Source: Darin Feinstein*

Will infrastructure support network growth?

Michael Levitt, co-founder chairman and CEO of Core Scientific, told Cointelegraph that he fully anticipates for the BTC global hash rate to continue growing at an aggressive pace.

However, Levitt mentioned that this growth is dependent on the price of Bitcoin moving forward, along with the success of the infrastructure currently being built. “The amount of infrastructure expected will be challenged by global supply chain issues,” he remarked.

Feinstein added that infrastructure is the biggest challenge when it comes to mining Bitcoin. “The bottlenecks for Bitcoin mining are land, energy, equipment, and lastly, infrastructure. There is plenty of ASIC hardware to be purchased, energy and land are also readily available, but miners need a place to plug in power, and, historically, that is where miners run into issues,” he commented.

North America has become one of the world’s largest Bitcoin mining hubs, as per data from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, which shows that 35% of the average monthly BTC hash rate comes from the United States, while 10% comes from Canada. Wall explained that North America has taken the lead as a global Bitcoin mining hub for a number of reasons. “This is the case due to the region’s crypto-friendly jurisdiction, its stable regulatory environment, pro-innovation nature and, most importantly, access to the most important thing miners need — low-cost power, preferably renewable.”

Wall elaborated that the low costs of power in the U.S. have been significant for miners, especially when organizations tap into the right part of the power grid. “We’ve seen significant growth in Texas over the last 12 months,” he said.

Cointelegraph previously reported that the Bitcoin mining industry in Texas consumed around 500 to 1,000 megawatts (MW) of power during Nov. 2021. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas reportedly anticipates that demand could increase as much as fivefold by 2023 and has planned an additional 3,000 to 5,000 MW.

Wall elaborated that many miners are moving to Texas due to the fact that the state operates its own power grid that consists of a high degree of power from sustainable generation sources, but needs more flexible demand, or load:

“Miners can provide a consistent load that is flexible. It’s also helpful that Texas has demand response programs in place, where miners will shut down and give power back to the grid when there is high demand. This makes the grid more resilient.”

Benefits such as these have prompted Argo Blockchain to build its next 200 MW facility in Dickens County, west Texas, directly next to a 5.5-gigawatt substation. “There is a lot of congestion at that substation and they need local load to relieve it. The power from west Texas needs to go a long way to reach major urban cities like Dallas and Houston. But, if we can use that energy much closer to where it’s being generated, that relieves the congestion,” remarked Wall.

By drawing power from a nearby substation, Argo Blockchain is demonstrating the use of sustainable energy. According to Wall, the mining company has been carbon negative since 2020. This is important, as Tabar stated that a massive environmental, social and governance movement is currently facing the crypto mining industry:

“Miners must draw from clean sources of power or else they will be regulated out of business. It can’t always be about the cheapest sources of power. Miners will eventually suffer valuation discounts if they use dirty power, even if that source is cheap.”

The perks of going public

A rush of mining firms to go public is another trend the Bitcoin mining industry is likely to witness this year. Most recently, Texas-based Bitcoin mining company Rhodium announced plans to offer 7.69 million shares at $12–$14 each in an initial public offering (IPO).

Core Scientific went public on Jan. 20 after merging with Power & Digital Infrastructure Acquisition in a SPAC transaction. Although shares of Core Scientific have fallen since then, Feinstein mentioned that every publicly listed crypto company — like Coinbase, Galaxy Digital and others — brings institutional investment opportunities to the U.S. market. “This is enhancing and bringing credibility to the entire industry,” he remarked.

Levitt added that Bitcoin miners going public brings about a number of benefits, including better access to capital while having publicly traded equity that can be used for acquiring and building other businesses. Moreover, Levitt added that having a public presence is useful for conversations in and around the financial services industry. “However, the principal benefit is much more ready access to capital for growing and developing our business,” said Levitt.

Bitcoin miner Rhodium set for IPO, valued at $1.7 billion

January 18, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin miner Rhodium set for IPO, valued at .7 billion

Bitcoin mining

The Initial Public Offering (IPO) for Texas-based Bitcoin miner Rhodium Enterprises is another feather in the cap for the Bitcoin-friendly southern State.

The first IPO for the crypto industry in 2022 comes from a Texas-based Bitcoin (BTC) mining company, Rhodium Enterprises.

In an SEC filing made last week, Rhodium plans to offer 7.69 million shares at $12-$14 each in an initial public offering (IPO). Trading under the ticker “RHDM” on Nasdaq, 56.8 million class A and 67.5 million class B shares will be released, ultimately valuing the company at just shy of $1.7 billion.

Rhodium is a cryptocurrency technology company that uses proprietary tech and liquid cooling technology to self-mine Bitcoin. Their goal is to be the most sustainable and cost-efficient producer of Bitcoin in the industry.

The company joins a growing list of US-based companies that mine Bitcoin. Over the past three years, Marathon, Bitdeer Technologies, Riot Blockchain, and Bit Digital listed on stock exchanges such as NASDAQ.

According to the filing, Rhodium currently runs 125 megawatts (MW) of mining power capacity at its first Texas site. 33,600 Bitcoin miners are running, churning out a total combined hash rate capacity of approximately 2.7 EH/s.

Following the IPO and a raise of $100 million capital, it will run a second site in Texas where they "expect to develop 225 MW of additional capacity." By the end of 2022, the company will effectively more than double its current capacity.

Bearing in mind that the average cost per BTC in 2021 was about $47,000, their electricity cost basis is staggering:

Our infrastructure platform allows us to mine Bitcoin at a significantly lower cost compared to the industry average. For the period from January 1. 2021, to September 30. 2021, our average electricity cost to produce one Bitcoin was approximately $2,507.

Texas continues to carve out a reputation as a Bitcoin mining-friendly state. In quarter four of 2021, Senator Ted Cruz commented that Texas should use Bitcoin mining to capture wasted natural gas while the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) anticipated that Texan Bitcoin mining power demands could jump 5 times by 2023.

Rhodium takes advantage of Texas’ “independent power market and abundance of low-cost renewable energy resources,” and pro-Bitcoin business environment.

Given the company’s experience with liquid-cooling technology and efficiency; for tiny Bitcoin miners seeking to solve valid blocks, it just got a bit harder.

Texas chases after Wyoming with crypto law proposal, but challenges remain

March 25, 2021 Coin Telegraph

bitcoin regulation

Will Texas follow in Wyoming’s footsteps to become the next crypto-friendly U.S. state?

Everything is bigger in Texas, but when it comes to crypto-friendly legislation, this doesn’t seem to be the case… just yet. On March 12, 2021, Texas Representative Tan Parker introduced the Uniform Commercial Code, also known as UCC, amendment bill (House Bill 4474) to better adapt commercial law to blockchain innovation and digital asset regulations.

Specifically speaking, the Texas UCC amendment bill aims to recognize virtual currencies under commercial law. Lee Bratcher, president of the Texas Blockchain Council — an organization recently established as a trade association intended to make Texas a leader in national blockchain growth — told Cointelegraph that the Texas Blockchain Council worked closely with Texas legislators to draft this bill, noting that if passed, it would change the business law around the definition of digital currencies and the legal definition of control:

“The Texas Blockchain Council has been working with uniform law commission around the language of the UCC amendment bill, along with other stakeholders to make sure they are all comfortable with the language.”

Texas aims to rank second to Wyoming, but concerns remain

According to Bratcher, HB 4474 is similar to what Wyoming is already doing with its Digital Asset Law, which was passed on Feb. 26, 2019, and put into effect on July 1, 2019. “If the UCC amendment Bill passes, Texas would solidify a leadership position alongside states like Wyoming that have already blazed a trail towards regulatory clarity,” commented Bratcher.

While notable, a few unaddressed challenges remain. Caitlin Long, chief operating officer and founder of Avanti Financial Group — a Wyoming bank formed to serve as a bridge between digital assets and the U.S. dollar payments system — told Cointelegraph that HB 4474 is similar to Wyoming’s law in one respect: It aims to define virtual currencies. Long stated:

“That’s a huge positive, because in most U.S. states, the legal status of Bitcoin is unclear, which means that judges have no roadmap to adjudicate disputes, and parties do not have clarity regarding their rights and obligations.”

Long further noted that if HB 4474 passes, then Texas will join Wyoming as the only U.S. state to clarify this critical area of the law. “Both the Texas and Wyoming laws do so in the right way, which is to recognize control of the virtual currency as the determining factor,” Long remarked.

However, Long pointed out a critical gaping hole in HB 4474. According to Long, the bill does not define how a lender can establish an enforceable lien on a virtual currency. “In the legal parlance, this is called, ‘how to perfect a security interest,’” she commented.

Long explained that she is worried that Bitcoin (BTC) owners will become “mired in a lien mess in the U.S.” because U.S. commercial law doesn’t clarify which liens on Bitcoin are enforceable. This has become even more worrisome for Long, as she pointed out that there has been a huge rise in lending secured by Bitcoin as collateral in recent years:

“I think a lien mess is already building in Bitcoin. Bitcoin owners are at risk of being hit with old, unknown liens on their coins, which they had no way of discovering before purchasing — and the higher the Bitcoin price goes, the greater the financial incentive that lawyers have to pursue such claims.”

Unlike HB 4474, Long noted that the Wyoming law clearly states how lenders can create an enforceable lien on Bitcoin while also providing for the cleansing of dormant liens. Unfortunately, HB 4474 has not done this just yet. Rather, HB 4474 clarifies that an innocent purchaser won’t be subject to such adverse claims, adhering to the “take free” rules.

Although this is the case, Long pointed out yet another concern, further questioning what would happen to valid liens that were in force before HB 4474 potentially becomes a law. “Would Bitcoin lenders no longer have a valid lien in Texas? And will this affect the willingness of Bitcoin lenders to lend to Texas customers?”

Texas remains positive despite concerns

Although some critical concerns remain regarding HB 4474, Bratcher remarked that more guidance will eventually be formed around the UCC amendment bill: “We are working to produce a framework that moves in the same direction of Wyoming, and we will be following up with additional legislation in the future.”

Meanwhile, some Texas-based crypto companies have already expressed excitement for HB 4474. Joseph Kelly, CEO of Unchained Capital — a Bitcoin native financial services company — told Cointelegraph that the firm does a lot of business locally and that having greater clarity around Bitcoin’s treatment under Texas statutes will help his company while encouraging other states to follow suit:

“As Texas and other states pass updates to their UCC that defines Bitcoin and spells out reasonable and commercial methods for perfecting a security interest in Bitcoin, it will help consumers and the industry avoid messy scenarios, lower average interest rates, and bring a greater proliferation of Bitcoin as acceptable collateral.”

The challenges around liens still remain, however. While the solution is still unknown, Long hypothesized that Texas may be taking an approach that explicitly favors institutional lenders at the expense of decentralized finance projects and other peer-to-peer lenders.

“Institutions have a way to perfect their security interests (by treating Bitcoin the same way that securities are treated under commercial law — as IOUs), but individuals and DeFi projects don’t have that option available to them,” Long commented. She further noted that she hopes Texas will be able to fix this in the same way that Wyoming did, as an amendment to the proposed law.

Regardless of the outcome, it’s notable that Texas has been taking measures to catch up to Wyoming in terms of crypto and blockchain regulations. In addition to HB 4474, Bratcher mentioned that three other blockchain bills were also being filed. While Bratcher is aware that these bills do not go as far as Wyoming’s bills, he believes Texas will rank right under Wyoming if Texas’ blockchain legislation passes, adding:

“Texas is the second-largest economy in the United States, and our congressional delegation is 10 times the size of Wyoming. We have much more influence in D.C. We just want to affirm what Wyoming is doing and come alongside them with a big economy and congressional delegation.”

texas Bitcoin