AUSTIN - Texas became the first state in the United States to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender this weekend in a surprise announcement made by Governor Greg Abbott on Sunday.
In an unanticipated development, the Texas House of Representatives voted 90 to 60 in favor of the Sound Money Act of 2022 which adopted Bitcoin as the only acceptable form of legal tender within the state. Following the House’s passage of the law, the Texas State Senate followed suit later in the day in a 20 to 11 vote, with Gov Abbott quickly signing the bill into law afterward.
Gov Abbott touted the use of Bitcoin for its potential to allow Texans to send remittances to family members living in other states being affected by the dollar’s continued devaluation.
At a press conference held Sunday afternoon, Gov Abbott is quoted as saying “Texans need a reliable and censorship resistant way to easily store and transact value and frankly going with Bitcoin was a no brainer.”
In a boon to firms like Ledger and Trezor, the state of Texas allocated funds to provide a stipend to low & middle income Texans for a hardware wallet. At the press conference held on Sunday, Texas House Speaker, Dade Phelan, spoke to this point saying “it will be critical that Texans self-custody their Bitcoin if we are going to create monetary independence for our state.”
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