Texas has taken another step in asserting Bitcoin dominance in the United States as the House of Representatives voted 139-2 to enshrine the right to own bitcoin in the Texas Bill of Rights.
Amendment to Bill of Rights Protects Bitcoin
Representative Giovanni Caproglione put forward the amendment that would add a clause to Texas’s Bill of Rights, securing “the right of the people to own, hold, and use” bitcoin.
“No government shall prohibit or encumber the ownership or holding of any form or amount of money or other currency.”
The motion was overwhelmingly successful, with 139 votes in favour and just 2 against.
There needs to be one more vote in the House of Representatives before it gets passed onto the Texas Senate.
The amendment would ensure that citizens are free to use the currencies, financial services, and payment systems of their own choice, rather than being forced to use what the government tells them to.
The move is sure to be popular with libertarians, regardless of their association with Bitcoin.
Bitcoin Is a Libertarian Dream
Generally speaking, libertarians are fans of the digital currency since it offers them a peer-to-peer, permissionless, trustless, open-source, globally accessible payments system with its own digital currency.
The freedom afforded by the Bitcoin network and its associated currency is a key attraction for millions of people all over the world, and freedom lovers in Texas are hoping to have the right to own it guaranteed by law.
This move comes as Texas also voted to ratify tax exemptions on using flared gas to power bitcoin mining.
The Lone Star State has long been a safe haven for Bitcoin in America.
If this amendment is passed, the digital currency bringing financial freedom to people all over the world, from Venezuela to Nigeria, will be untouchable by the federal government.
If more states follow suit, Biden’s plan to tax bitcoin miners 30% of their electricity expenditure might face fierce pushback at the state level.
A back-and-forth about Bitcoin appears to be materialising in the land of the free, and Texas is currently leading the charge in Bitcoin’s favour.
