Texas House Bill 815 would let cities and counties put up to $10 million each into Bitcoin or other crypto assets. The bill leaves out custody and loss-handling rules, and it has not been assigned to a committee.
A newly pre-filed Texas bill would give cities and counties the option to hold Bitcoin. House Bill 815 would let municipalities and counties invest up to $10 million of their funds in Bitcoin or other crypto assets.
The bill would not force any local government to buy anything. It would only permit it.
What HB 815 changes
Representative Ron Reynolds, a Democrat from Missouri City, pre-filed the bill on November 10, 2026. It targets the Public Funds Investment Act, which governs where Texas public entities can invest taxpayer money and does not currently list crypto.
If lawmakers pass it, the new authority would take effect on September 1, 2027. School districts are excluded, and cities and counties that use the authority would need to revise their investment policies before moving any money.
Borrowing from the state's Bitcoin law
HB 815 pulls its definitions from Senate Bill 21, the 2025 law that created the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in June 2025. But it leaves out some of that law's guardrails, including a market cap threshold and custody regulations. It also lacks rules on how losses would be handled.
The state already has exposure of its own. The Texas Comptroller's office holds approximately $10 million in Bitcoin exposure through the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust, as part of the state reserve. HB 815, as written, does not say whether cities should choose a fund like that or hold coins directly.
A narrower successor to a failed bill
In 2025, House Bill 4258 aimed to set broader provisions covering state funds, but it did not pass. HB 815 focuses only on cities and counties and caps exposure at a fixed dollar figure.
Without custody or loss-handling rules in the bill, each local government would largely design its own safeguards. The first milestone is committee assignment once the 90th Texas Legislature convenes on January 12, 2027.
Source: Crypto Briefing
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