The Texas House of Representatives has made substantial progress towards passing a measure that would legalize the issue of a digital currency backed by 100% gold in the state.
The House has yet to vote on a measure that would enable the creation of an electronic system through which this digital currency could be used and redeemed for either fiat currency or gold at a fixed rate.
Some US lawmakers have voiced opposition to the adoption of a CBDC, but this legislative progress would be made regardless.
Representative Mark Dorazio introduced HB4903 on March 10 in the House. With the backing of 43 representatives, the measure is now up for a vote in the House.
This proposed legislation in Texas would mandate the development of freely transferable, digital money backed by gold by the State Comptroller. For example, “each unit of this digital currency would represent a particular fraction of a troy ounce of gold held in trust” To facilitate the transfer of gold-backed digital money, the law mandates that the comptroller set up a digital system for doing so.
According to a financial note dated April 25, 2023, the estimated cost of hiring a third-party vendor to create the digital currency and a user-driven platform (with limited features) is about $25 million. However, the price of cutting-edge electronics and complete functionality might reach $100 million.
On April 26th, the committee that oversees State Affairs discussed a potential replacement for the original measure. There seems to be broad support for the digital currency measure in Texas, as seen by the 78 pages of public comments presented to the committee. The House committee gave its approval of the measure as revised on May 2nd, signaling its support for further consideration by the full House.
Texas has made a number of steps to take advantage of crypto and associated technologies while safeguarding its residents, with the “HB4903” law being only one of them. The Texas legislature has been rather vigilant in recent weeks about crypto legislation in the state.
The State House of Representatives enacted HB1666 on April 20, 2023, requiring crypto exchanges to safeguard their consumers and be completely transparent with them.
Senate legislation that sought to eliminate incentives for local crypto miners paved the way for the “Proof of Reserves” law. On April 12, this measure was approved by the Texas State Senate.
Also Read: New York’s Attorney General Weighs In On A Crypto Bill That Would Tighten Regulations
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