Texas is no longer just talking about a state Bitcoin reserve. It’s building the infrastructure to actually manage one.
Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock announced on May 28 the formation of the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Advisory Committee, a five-member panel created under Senate Bill 21. The committee’s job: advise the state on how to value, secure, and manage Bitcoin as a public asset.
Who’s on the committee
The panel draws from mining, finance, and academia. Gary A. Vecchiarelli, President and CFO of CleanSpark, landed one of the five seats. CleanSpark is one of the largest publicly traded Bitcoin miners in the US.
Jamie McAvity, CEO of Cormint Data Systems, brings another mining perspective. Cormint operates Bitcoin mining facilities in Texas.
Laurie Dotter fills the investment expertise slot. Carla Reyes, a law professor at SMU who specializes in digital asset policy, rounds out the publicly named members.
The committee is tasked with providing guidance across four domains: Bitcoin valuation, risk management, digital asset management, and custody policies.
Senate Bill 21 and the bigger picture
The committee exists because of Senate Bill 21, passed during the 89th Texas Legislature. That bill laid the legal groundwork for Texas to establish and maintain a strategic Bitcoin reserve.
Alongside the committee announcement, Hancock’s office put out an RFP seeking qualified firms to provide custody and liquidity services for the state’s Bitcoin holdings. The emphasis, according to the announcement, is on institutional-grade security and transparent public reporting.
What this means for investors and the broader market
The committee’s composition reveals priorities. Two mining executives suggest Texas plans to think about Bitcoin not just as something you buy, but as something that intersects with the state’s energy infrastructure. A law professor focused on digital asset policy signals awareness that regulatory battles are entering a new phase at the state level.
Investors should watch two things in the coming months. First, which custody providers win the RFP, because that reveals how Texas defines “institutional grade.” Second, whether other large states follow with similar legislative action.