House Bills 4474 and 1576, both of which were signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in June went into effect on September 1.
Two bills aimed at promoting the adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology have been signed into law in the Texas state legislature.
On September 1, the provisions of Texas House Bills 4474 and 1576, which were passed by both chambers of the state legislature in May and signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott in June, were officially effective.
A blockchain working group is being established in Texas, and H.B. 4474 changes the state’s Uniform Commercial Code to allow cryptocurrencies to be recognized as legal tender under commercial law.
“H.B. 4474 better defines security interests for Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies,” said Lee Bratcher, president of the Texas Blockchain Council, in an interview with Cointelegraph. He added that this will “allow institutional investors to get involved with sizable investments.”
His statement continued by stating that the Texas Banking Commissioner and the Texas Department of Banking declared in June that banks with a state charter will be able to custody bitcoins under specific conditions.
“This is positive for crypto generally because Texas became the 4th U.S. state, behind Wyoming, Rhode Island and Nebraska, to clarify the commercial law status of these assets,” Wyoming-based crypto proponent Caitlin Long told Cointelegraph.
“This means parties to transactions have clarity regarding their legal rights and obligations, judges have a roadmap to adjudicate disputes, and lenders know they have an enforceable lien on the crypto pledged as collateral for collateralized loans.”
As reported by Cointelegraph in March, the president of the Texas Blockchain Council stated that adapting commercial law to blockchain innovation and digital asset legislation might bring the state closer to Wyoming, which just passed a Digital Asset Law that went into effect in July.
Former Governor Rick Perry has previously identified himself as a “crypto law proposal supporter,” especially referring to House Bill 4474, and has appeared to urge cryptocurrency mining companies to locate in Texas.
Some bitcoin miners have relocated to Texas as a result of China’s crackdown on cryptocurrency mining activities. The state is presently home to BlockCap and Riot Blockchain, among other companies. H-E-B, a big grocery company, has disclosed plans to deploy cryptocurrency ATMs in its Texas shops, which were announced in June.
