Key Takeaways
- • Texas Rep. Ron Reynolds (D-Missouri City) filed House Bill 815 on the first day of prefiling for the 90th Texas Legislature, which would let each city and county invest up to $10 million of public money in bitcoin or another cryptocurrency.
- • The bill amends the Public Funds Investment Act (Chapter 2256, Texas Government Code) by adding Section 2256.0165, with authority taking effect Sept. 1, 2027, if enacted.
- • HB 815 sets no custody, audit, or loss-handling rules, and does not import the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve's $500 billion market-cap threshold or cold-storage requirements.
- • The bill is a narrower successor to HB 4258, filed in March 2025, which would have allowed up to $250 million of the rainy day fund in crypto; that measure died in committee.
- • The bill has been filed but not referred to a committee; the regular session convenes Jan. 12, 2027.
Summary
A Texas lawmaker filed a bill on Monday that would allow each city and county in the state to invest up to $10 million of public money in bitcoin or another cryptocurrency, according to Bitcoin Magazine. House Bill 815, filed by Rep. Ron Reynolds, a Missouri City Democrat, was filed on the first day of prefiling for the 90th Texas Legislature. The bill's caption reads "Relating to the authority of a municipality or county to invest money in cryptocurrencies."
The measure would amend the Public Funds Investment Act, Chapter 2256 of the Texas Government Code, by adding Section 2256.0165, titled "Authorized Investments: Cryptocurrency." The $10 million limit applies to each city or county rather than as a statewide pool. School districts and other local governments covered by the act are excluded. The authority would take effect Sept. 1, 2027, if the bill becomes law.
The bill borrows its definitions of "Bitcoin" and "cryptocurrency" from Section 403.701 of the Government Code, which Senate Bill 21 wrote into law last year to create the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. As a result, local governments would not be limited to bitcoin. The bill does not import the reserve law's requirement that coins have an average market capitalization of at least $500 billion over 24 months, nor its cold-storage and qualified-custodian provisions. The new section is silent on custody, digital-asset audits, and how losses would be handled. Local governments would still need to add cryptocurrency to their written investment policies, which must emphasize safety of principal and liquidity under the existing act.
The proposal is a narrower version of HB 4258, which Reynolds filed on March 10, 2025, with Rep. Mihaela Plesa. That broader bill would have allowed the comptroller to invest up to $250 million of the Economic Stabilization Fund in bitcoin or other cryptocurrency, and it included the same $10 million local cap. It was referred to the House Delivery of Government Efficiency Committee on April 1, 2025, and did not become law. HB 815 drops the rainy day fund language and retains only the local-government provision.
The state's own reserve, created through SB 21 and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in June 2025, has moved toward direct holdings. According to The Texas Tribune, the Comptroller's office bought $5 million of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust on Nov. 20, 2025, as a placeholder while it worked on direct custody, and a second purchase brought its IBIT exposure to about $10 million. In May, Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock named an advisory committee and issued a request for proposals for a custodian.
The bill has been filed but not yet referred to a committee, a step that typically waits until lawmakers convene. The regular session begins Jan. 12, 2027. Even if HB 815 passes both chambers and is signed, cities and counties could not use the authority until Sept. 1, 2027.
The measure would amend the Public Funds Investment Act, Chapter 2256 of the Texas Government Code, by adding Section 2256.0165, titled "Authorized Investments: Cryptocurrency." The $10 million limit applies to each city or county rather than as a statewide pool. School districts and other local governments covered by the act are excluded. The authority would take effect Sept. 1, 2027, if the bill becomes law.
The bill borrows its definitions of "Bitcoin" and "cryptocurrency" from Section 403.701 of the Government Code, which Senate Bill 21 wrote into law last year to create the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. As a result, local governments would not be limited to bitcoin. The bill does not import the reserve law's requirement that coins have an average market capitalization of at least $500 billion over 24 months, nor its cold-storage and qualified-custodian provisions. The new section is silent on custody, digital-asset audits, and how losses would be handled. Local governments would still need to add cryptocurrency to their written investment policies, which must emphasize safety of principal and liquidity under the existing act.
The proposal is a narrower version of HB 4258, which Reynolds filed on March 10, 2025, with Rep. Mihaela Plesa. That broader bill would have allowed the comptroller to invest up to $250 million of the Economic Stabilization Fund in bitcoin or other cryptocurrency, and it included the same $10 million local cap. It was referred to the House Delivery of Government Efficiency Committee on April 1, 2025, and did not become law. HB 815 drops the rainy day fund language and retains only the local-government provision.
The state's own reserve, created through SB 21 and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in June 2025, has moved toward direct holdings. According to The Texas Tribune, the Comptroller's office bought $5 million of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust on Nov. 20, 2025, as a placeholder while it worked on direct custody, and a second purchase brought its IBIT exposure to about $10 million. In May, Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock named an advisory committee and issued a request for proposals for a custodian.
The bill has been filed but not yet referred to a committee, a step that typically waits until lawmakers convene. The regular session begins Jan. 12, 2027. Even if HB 815 passes both chambers and is signed, cities and counties could not use the authority until Sept. 1, 2027.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.