House Bill 815 Lets Texas Cities And Counties Hold $10M In Bitcoin

New Legislation in Texas will allow any city or county in the state to invest up to $10 million of public money in Bitcoin. House Bill 815 was filed on November 9, 2026 by Representative Ron Reynolds. This is a two sub-sectioned bill and it can be viewed in Texas Legislature Online.

This bill adds a section in Chapter 2256 of the Government Code entitled "Authorized Investments: Cryptocurrency". There is just one action recorded in the history tab. The action taken is the House filing on 11/09/2026.

The introduced text of House Bill 815 on Texas Legislature Online. Source: Texas Legislature Online, 90(R) HB 815 introduced version.

What House Bill 815 says in Section 2256.0165

Subsection (a) is a definition, and it means that the terms "Bitcoin" and "cryptocurrency" have definitions provided in Section 403.701, added by Chapter 957 (S.B. 21), Acts of the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, 2025.

Subsection (b) is the rule and provides that a municipality or county "may invest not more than $10 million of its money or money under its control in Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency." The cap is established separately for each municipality or county.

Reading the wording closely

The phrase "its money or money under its control" is broader than just the general fund of a city. In other words, the provision includes money the local government controls regardless of where that money is deposited. The words "another cryptocurrency" indicate that the provision doesn't limit the authority only to Bitcoin.

This measure does not require any city or county to purchase anything. It just establishes a cap and nothing more. Chapter 2256 will remain the place where all such regulations concerning investments are established.

What $10 million means in coins

According to Binance, BTCUSDT had been quoted at $74,626 on 11th November 2026 at 21:03 UTC. In that case, the $10 million allocation will get around 134 BTC. The amount varies according to the market situation, and the bill in question uses dollar rather than coins.

There are only two operative subsections in total, less than 100 words. In the Texas Legislature Online website, the filing has been marked as 90(R) which refers to 90th Legislature, Regular Session. The council document number for this bill is 90R 2923 CS-D.

Dates to know

Section 2 of the bill states that the act becomes effective on September 1, 2027. House Bill 815 is filed under the 90th Legislature, which convenes for its regular session beginning January 2027. The title of the bill is "Relating to the authority of a municipality or county to invest money in cryptocurrencies."

The website categorizes the bill as falling under city government finance, county government finance and financial matters. This means that once the committee assignments are made, the bill would be discussed there.

Who filed House Bill 815 and what happens next

The author of the bill, as shown in the history page, is Representative Ron Reynolds. However, since there may be many amendments to one bill filed by an individual between filing and voting, the above is the bill at the time of introduction. In Texas, once the session starts, the bill will undergo committee hearings and floor debates with the possibility of amendments.

This article reports a filed bill and does not predict whether it will pass.

Featured image: TexasStateCapitol-2010-01 by LoneStarMike, licensed CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.