Two bills, Texas House Bills 4474 and 1576, aimed at the adoption of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, are now law in the state of Texas.

In June, the bills were signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott, who took effect from September 1st. H.B. 1576 id passed to establish a blockchain working group in Texas. On the other hand, H.B. 4474 makes changes to the Uniform Commercial Code of Texas to recognize cryptocurrencies under commercial law. H.B. 4474 also defines the security interests for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

Bypassing these bills, Texas has now become the 4th U.S. state that clarifies the commercial law status of cryptos, behind Wyoming, Rhode Island and Nebraska. The Digital Asset Law in Wyoming went into effect in July 2019. 

Governor Abbott, referring to H.B. 4474, describes himself as a “crypto law proposal supporter” and encourages crypto mining firms to operate in Texas.

Few of the bitcoin miners have set up shop in Texas following china cracking down on several crypto mining operations. China’s crypto cowboys flee to Texas to seek cheap power, lax regulation, and Austin’s best brisket. The state currently houses BlockCap, one of the world's largest bitcoin mining operations and Riot Blockchain, a bitcoin mining, cryptocurrency investment and technology development firm.

In June, H-E-B, the major supermarket chain, announced that it would be installing crypto ATMs in its Texas stores. Coin Cloud, which has Bitcoin ATMs all over the US, is installing machines that will allow its users to deal with over 30 cryptocurrencies in this supermarket. Almost twenty-nine crypto ATMs are planning to be set up in H-E-B stores. These ATMs will include Bitcoin and Dogecoin and will be first made available in H-E-B stores in Houston, The Laredo Morning Times.

Rushali Das

CBW - External Analyst

INDIA