Texas — Bitcoin and virtual-currency law

• Jurisdiction: State of Texas (US)
• Date checked: 2026-10-09 (all statuses below were checked on this date unless another date is given)
• Regulators: Texas Department of Banking (DOB; money services and digital asset service providers); Texas State Securities Board (TSSB); Comptroller of Public Accounts (tax and the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve); Public Utility Commission and ERCOT (mining loads)
• Comptroller: Don Huffines was sworn in as (acting) comptroller on 2026-08-01, ahead of the November 2026 election; Kelly Hancock was acting comptroller before him. [N6][S12]
• Legislature: meets in odd years. The 89th regular session ended June 2025; there is no 2026 regular session; the 90th session starts January 2027 (bill pre-filing opens in November 2026).
• Saved primary sources: sources/states/tx/ (see sources/states/tx/INDEX.md)

At a glance

1. Money-transmitter licensing of virtual currency

• Supervisory Memorandum 1037, Texas Department of Banking, "Regulatory Treatment of Virtual Currencies Under the Money Services Modernization Act," revised 2025-01-28 (supersedes the 2019-04-01 version; both saved). From Commissioner Charles G. Cooper. [S1][S2]
• Exchanging virtual currency for dollars is not "currency exchange" under Fin. Code § 152.003(9)–(10), because virtual currency is not government coin or paper money.
• Under Fin. Code § 152.003(19), "money" or "monetary value" includes a stablecoin that is (A) pegged to a sovereign currency, (B) fully backed by reserve assets, and (C) redeemable from the issuer — so dealing in such stablecoins can be money transmission. A stablecoin that is under-reserved is still covered.
• Non-stablecoin virtual currency (e.g., Bitcoin) is not money or monetary value; "receiving it for transmission, alone, is not money transmission." When dollars or a covered stablecoin are involved, licensing depends on how they are handled.
• The 2019 version listed examples: two-party Bitcoin-for-dollars sales and crypto-to-crypto trades are not money transmission; an exchange that holds the buyer's dollars in escrow-like fashion generally is. [S2]
• Licensees may count virtual currency toward permissible investments only if it is a stablecoin matching outstanding stablecoin obligations (Fin. Code § 152.356(a)(6)); applicants handling virtual currency must file an independent security assessment (§ 152.104(a)(10)). [S1]
• Platforms that trade for and hold custody of customers' digital assets may also be "digital asset service providers" under Fin. Code ch. 160. [S1]
• MTMA adoption. CSBS lists Texas as a full MTMA state: "Money Services Modernization Act," Tex. Fin. Code § 152.001 et seq., enacted by SB 895 / HB 3573 (2023). The CSBS legislative update says effective 2023-09-01; its enactment table says 2024-01-01. Texas did not adopt the MTMA's optional virtual-currency title. [S13][S14]

2. Virtual-currency-specific statutes

The reserve in practice

• 2025-11-20: first purchase, $5 million of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), at about $87,000 per BTC, out of the $10 million appropriation; officials said they planned to move to direct custody in early 2026 through a custodian RFP (Lee Bratcher of the Texas Blockchain Council announced it on X). [N1]
• December 2025: a second $5 million purchase was reported, bringing holdings to about $10 million (Forbes headline, 2025-12-17; article blocked — details unverified). [N3]
• 2026-05-28: Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock named the advisory committee — Laurie Dotter (ERS investment advisory board chair), Jamie McAvity (Cormint Data Systems, a Bitcoin miner), Prof. Carla Reyes (SMU law) and Gary A. Vecchiarelli (CleanSpark CFO) — and posted an RFP on the Electronic State Business Daily for a firm to "securely acquire, hold, manage and report the state's bitcoin and cryptocurrency holdings." [S12]
• The current size of the reserve and whether the custodian RFP has been awarded were not found (gap).

3. Crypto ATM / kiosk law

• No Texas kiosk statute. Kiosk operators that take cash for Bitcoin generally need a DOB money-transmission licence under ch. 152 (dollars are received) — see SM 1037 and the enforcement item below. [S1][S11]
• 2025 SB 1705 (89R), Sen. Parker (House sponsor Rep. Plesa), "Relating to the regulation of virtual currency kiosks." Would have required DOB licensing, a $3,000 per customer per 24 hours limit, a fee cap of the greater of $5 or 12%, 72-hour holds for first-time customers, warning signs ("law enforcement does not accept virtual currency payments"), blockchain analytics, and fee refunds after confirmed fraud. Passed the Senate 2025-05-15; reported by House Pensions, Investments & Financial Services 2025-05-22; placed on the House General State Calendar 2025-05-27 and died when the session ended. [S6][S7] Companion HB 2798 also died. [S15]
• Interim hearing 2026-07-30: House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs. FBI data cited: Texans lost $56.8 million through kiosks in 2025 (the most of any state); about 4,000 kiosks in Texas. Chair Rep. Cole Hefner said lawmakers may look at "prohibiting these kiosks" as other states have. DOB Deputy Commissioner Jesse Saucillo testified. [N2]

4. Tax treatment

• Texas has no personal income tax, so individuals owe no state income tax on Bitcoin gains (general knowledge; not re-verified against a Comptroller page in this check).
• No Comptroller letter ruling on sales tax treatment of buying, selling or paying with Bitcoin was located in this check (gap). (A 2023 Comptroller memo, STAR 202309029L, concerns in-game "virtual currencies" taxed as amusement services — it does not address Bitcoin.)
• Mining-equipment and data-center sales-tax questions appear in Comptroller rulings cited by tax firms (e.g., hosting of crypto mining) — not reviewed (gap).

5. Notable enforcement

• Texas State Securities Board. Says it "was the first state securities regulator to enter an enforcement order against a cryptocurrency firm" and has issued "more than 70 administrative orders." Recent: Apertum Foundation and others (2025-07-31); TEXITcoin, MineTXC, Blockchain Mint and founder Robert J. Gray — emergency cease-and-desist order ENF-26-CDO-1893, 2026-02-11 (unregistered mining "packages" sold through multi-level marketing; misleading statements); Voyager Digital and related entities (2026-05-20); BG Wealth Sharing and DSJ Exchange, alleged crypto pyramid scheme (2026-06-03). [S16][S17]
• Texas Department of Banking — kiosk operator consent order, 2026-02-24. An unnamed virtual-currency kiosk operator was ordered to pay $40,839.75 for unlicensed money transmission involving stablecoins through kiosks and an online platform (Fin. Code § 152.101), following a July 2023 cease-and-desist; an unlicensed affiliate merged into it in October 2024. (Orrick InfoBytes summary; the order itself was not retrieved — gap.) [S11]

6. Pending and recently failed bills

There is no Texas session in 2026, so nothing is pending. Bills from 2025 that died include:

Expect kiosk restrictions (possibly a ban) and reserve funding to come back in the 2027 session, per the 2026-07-30 hearing. [N2]

7. Contested and fringe claims (flagged, not endorsed)

• Bitcoin reserve as an inflation hedge vs. speculation. Sponsors and the Texas Blockchain Council present the reserve as a hedge and a signal of leadership; critics call it speculation with public money (no specific critic's statement was read in this check — unverified attribution). The $500 billion market-cap rule effectively limits it to Bitcoin. [S3][N1] Policy dispute; no performance data verified.
• Miners and the ERCOT grid. Miners say interruptible loads stabilize the grid and are paid for curtailing in emergencies; critics say demand-response payments are a subsidy and that mining raises prices. SB 1929 only requires registration. [S8] Contested; payment figures not verified here.
• "Kiosks are a scam pipeline" vs. "legitimate access to Bitcoin." Committee chair and FBI loss figures vs. industry statements that most kiosk users are legitimate; the industry was not quoted in the source read. [N2] Contested.
• The "Texas is the Bitcoin capital" claim is a promotional framing by advocates; not verifiable.

Sources

Saved full copies are in sources/states/tx/. News and secondary items are summaries only.

• [S1] Texas Department of Banking, Supervisory Memorandum 1037, rev. 2025-01-28. https://www.dob.texas.gov/sites/default/files/files/consumer-information/sm1037.pdf — retrieved 2026-10-09 — saved tx-dob-sm-1037-rev-2025-01-28.pdf
• [S2] Texas Department of Banking, Supervisory Memorandum 1037, rev. 2019-04-01 (superseded). https://www.dob.texas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Laws-Regulations/New-Actions/sm1037.pdf — saved tx-dob-sm-1037-rev-2019-04-01.pdf
• [S3] Texas Legislature, 2025 SB 21 (89R), enrolled. https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/billtext/pdf/SB00021F.pdf — saved tx-2025-89r-sb21-strategic-bitcoin-reserve-enrolled.pdf
• [S4] Texas Legislature, 2025 HB 4488 (89R), enrolled. https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/billtext/pdf/HB04488F.pdf — saved tx-2025-89r-hb4488-reserve-fund-enrolled.pdf
• [S5] Texas Legislature, 2023 HB 1666 (88R), enrolled. https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/pdf/HB01666F.pdf — saved tx-2023-88r-hb1666-digital-asset-service-providers-enrolled.pdf
• [S6] Texas Legislature Online, SB 1705 (89R) history. https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=SB1705 — read 2026-10-09
• [S7] Texas House bill analysis, SB 1705 (89R), committee report. https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/analysis/html/SB01705H.htm — read 2026-10-09
• [S8] Texas Legislature, 2023 SB 1929 (88R), enrolled. https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/pdf/SB01929F.pdf — saved tx-2023-88r-sb1929-large-flexible-loads-enrolled.pdf
• [S9] Texas Legislature, 2021 HB 4474 (87R), enrolled. https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/87R/billtext/pdf/HB04474F.pdf — saved tx-2021-87r-hb4474-ucc-virtual-currency-enrolled.pdf
• [S10] Texas Legislature Online, SB 21 (89R) history (signed 2025-06-20). https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=SB21 — read 2026-10-09
• [S11] Orrick InfoBytes, "Texas regulator issues consent order against virtual currency kiosk operator…," 2026-03-06. https://infobytes.orrick.com/2026-03-06/texas-regulator-issues-consent-order-against-virtual-currency-kiosk-operator-for/ — summary only
• [S12] Texas Comptroller news release, 2026-05-28, "Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock Names Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Advisory Committee Members." https://comptroller.texas.gov/about/media-center/news/20260528-acting-texas-comptroller-kelly-hancock-names-strategic-bitcoin-reserve-advisory-committee-members-1778774749224 — read 2026-10-09
• [S13] CSBS, MTMA State Enactments table (PDF dated 2026-10-08). https://www.csbs.org/sites/default/files/external-link-files/10.8.26%20MTMA%20State%20Enactments.pdf
• [S14] CSBS, "2022–2026 Money Transmission Modernization Act Proposed and Enacted Legislation" (August 2026). https://www.csbs.org/mtma-legislative-update-august-2026
• [S15] NCSL, 2025 cryptocurrency legislation page (updated 2025-09-11). https://www.ncsl.org/financial-services/cryptocurrency-digital-or-virtual-currency-and-digital-assets-2025-legislation
• [S16] Texas State Securities Board, "Cryptocurrency Enforcement." https://ssb.texas.gov/cryptocurrency-enforcement — read 2026-10-09
• [S17] Texas State Securities Board news release, "Texas Grounds Crypto Mining Investment 'Rocket Ship'," 2026-02-11. https://www.ssb.texas.gov/news-publications/texas-grounds-crypto-mining-investment-rocket-ship — read 2026-10-09
• [N1] The Financial Analyst, "Texas Pioneers U.S. State Bitcoin Investment with $5M ETF Purchase," 2025-11-26. https://thefinancialanalyst.net/2025/11/26/texas-pioneers-u-s-state-bitcoin-investment-with-5m-etf-purchase — summary only
• [N2] Yahoo News (Texas Tribune syndication), "Crypto kiosks linked to $56.8M in losses for Texans, lawmakers examine scams," 2026-07-30. https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/crypto-kiosks-linked-56-8m-214506040.html — summary only
• [N3] Forbes, "Texas Doubles Bitcoin Buy With Second $5 Million, Bringing Holdings To $10 Million," 2025-12-17 (403 on fetch; headline only). https://www.forbes.com/sites/beccabratcher/2025/12/17/texas-doubles-bitcoin-buy-with-second-5-million-bringing-holdings-to-10-million/
• [N6] Texas Tribune, "Don Huffines sworn in as Texas comptroller ahead of November elections," 2026-08-01 (headline seen in search results). https://www.texastribune.org/2026/08/01/don-huffines-sworn-in-as-texas-acting-comptroller-ahead-of-november-elections