Texas Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock has appointed five members to the state's Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Advisory Committee, as reported by the Comptroller's office. The committee, created under Senate Bill 21 which the 89th Texas Legislature passed and signed into law on June 22, 2025, includes CleanSpark CFO and president Gary Vecchiarelli, Cormint Data Systems founder and CEO Jamie McAvity, Southern Methodist University law professor Carla Reyes, Laurie Dotter, chair of the Investment Advisory Board for the Employees' Retirement System of Texas, and Hancock himself serving as the fifth member. Hancock stated that lawmakers gave his office a clear duty to manage the reserve with transparency, security, and strong financial controls in the best interest of Texas taxpayers. The committee will advise on bitcoin valuation, custody, and risk and reserve management as Texas moves forward with one of the first U.S. bitcoin reserves.
The Texas Comptroller's office has officially issued a request for proposals (RFP) on May 7 to find a qualified crypto custodian for the state's $10 million Bitcoin reserve. Vendors have until June 15 to respond to the RFP, after which Texas will review providers that can support direct Bitcoin custody and state-level reserve reporting. The winning provider will be expected to support the transition from ETF exposure to directly custodied Bitcoin within 60 days of signing the contract, marking a concrete step toward operational control over the state's Bitcoin holdings. Contract execution is targeted for late August 2026, providing a clear timeline for the transition from current ETF holdings to direct custody. The selected provider will be responsible for securely storing Bitcoin in the name of the State of Texas, managing liquidity for purchases and sales, and overseeing the transition from IBIT into spot Bitcoin.
Currently, the reserve has about $10 million in Bitcoin exposure through the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which was used as an interim solution while Texas prepared the systems needed for direct custody. The RFP sets out a transition plan from ETF-based exposure to direct Bitcoin holdings, with the selected firm expected to support the move within 60 days of contract execution. This marks a change from IBIT, which provides the state price exposure to Bitcoin, to direct custody under a structure arranged specifically for Texas. The conversion process must be completed within 60 days after the contract is awarded, giving Texas direct ownership of Bitcoin rather than exposure through ETF shares, allowing the state greater control over how its digital assets are managed. The scope includes secure asset storage in the name of the State of Texas, institutional-grade security features, and ongoing reporting requirements.
Meanwhile, the federal government continues work on its own Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, with President Donald Trump signing an executive order on March 6, 2025, directing the Treasury Department to create a reserve using Bitcoin already held through criminal and civil forfeitures. The order barred the Treasury from selling those holdings, with the U.S. government's forfeiture-linked holdings estimated at 328,372 BTC, making it the largest known state holder of Bitcoin. In January 2026, Patrick Witt, executive director of the President's Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, said legal issues still needed to be resolved before the Federal Reserve could be completed, but by May 2026, Witt indicated a major legal breakthrough had been reached and an announcement was close. On Capitol Hill, Senator Cynthia Lummis and Representative Nick Begich have backed the American Reserves Modernization Act, which would allow the Treasury to buy up to 200,000 BTC each year for five years and hold Bitcoin for at least 20 years, with the first open-market Treasury Bitcoin purchase projected for the fourth quarter of 2026.
The Comptroller's office has specified that the selected firm must build a public-facing website showing reserve holdings, values, and educational materials for the public. As reported by crypto.news, the reserve may also include other qualifying cryptocurrencies over time, though Bitcoin remains the main asset named in the current reserve structure. The procurement document calls for institutional-grade security including key management, operational controls, reporting, and secure custody tools. The selected provider must also build a public website to disclose reserve holdings, valuations and educational resources, reflecting a push for open reporting at the state level. The real test lies in whether Texas follows through with the remaining allocation, as half of the budget is already deployed and the market now needs proof that the 60 days of contract execution leads to actual settlement rather than just another press cycle. If the transition from IBIT starts but never settles into actual direct holdings, this remains more of a narrative trade than a durable flow change.
