- Texas House Bill 447 has passed the House of Representatives
- The bill aims to legally define cryptocurrencies and recognize them under commercial law
- Texas governor Greg Abbott announced his support for Bill 447 in March
The Texas House of Representatives yesterday passed a bill aimed at furthering the legal recognition of cryptocurrencies, giving the Senate the final say in further adoption of digital assets in the state. House Bill 447 is a proposed amendment to the state’s Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) was first introduced by Representative Tan Parker in March and was passed during yesterday’s session of the 87th Texas Legislature. Safe passage through the House of Representatives was almost guaranteed after Texas governor Greg Abbott added his support for the bill last month, which suggests that the Senate vote could be just as easy to negotiate.
Bill 447 Aims to Promote Crypto Innovation
The purpose of House Bill 447 is to better adapt commercial law to blockchain innovation and digital asset regulations, a similar sentiment to two crypto-friendly bills that were passed into law in Wyoming in 2019. The aim is to formalize crypto regulations in the state to encourage development of blockchain technology, something that is sorely lacking in the country as a whole.
Bill 447 gained a supporter in March when Texas governor Greg Abbott asked Texans to “Count me in as a crypto law proposal supporter”, adding that Texas should “lead on this”, and with states like New York frequently taking backward steps when it comes to crypto adoption they may well get the opportunity.
Texas Becoming the Next Crypto Mecca
Texas is becoming something of a crypto haven, with UK firm Argo Blockchain announcing in March that it had purchased a 320-acre plot on which it will build an 800-megawatt Bitcoin mining plant. This follows in the wake of Bitman, Layer1, Riot Blockchain and others in relocating to Texas or expanding existing Bitcoin mining facilities. Should Bill 447 get voted into law by the Senate then it might lead to other cryptocurrency entities to consider moving their operations to the crypto-friendly state.
