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Texas reportedly executed its first bitcoin purchase for the new state reserve.
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The buy was roughly $5 million worth of BlackRock’s IBIT ETF.
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The trade represents the first deployment under the $10 million bitcoin allocation approved earlier this year.
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The state could soon become the first in the U.S. with bitcoin on its official balance sheet.
Texas Makes Its First Bitcoin Move
Texas appears to have taken its first concrete step toward building a state bitcoin reserve. According to posts from the Texas Blockchain Council, the state executed a roughly $5 million purchase of BlackRock’s IBIT last week. This marks the reported first deployment of funds approved under SB 21, the legislation Governor Greg Abbott signed in June to create the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
Early Signs of a State Level Bitcoin Strategy
The reserve was introduced as a way for Texas to treat bitcoin alongside other long term assets. Supporters highlighted bitcoin’s long run performance, arguing that the state should be free to evaluate and hold it the same way it holds equities. While the state has not yet published official confirmation, the council described the trade as both the reserve’s first allocation and the first bitcoin purchase by a U.S. state.
A New Portfolio Line for the Texas Treasury
The Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company currently holds about $667 million in SPY and $34 million in a Janus Henderson fund. If the reported $5 million IBIT purchase is confirmed, bitcoin would become the third major holding. Other large investors have also increased IBIT exposure in recent months, including a sovereign wealth fund in Abu Dhabi and Harvard University.
Growing Institutional Support for IBIT
IBIT continues to attract major institutional buyers and has quickly become one of the most widely held crypto ETFs in the market. As analyst Eric Balchunas noted, few ETFs have ever appeared simultaneously in the portfolios of a sovereign fund, a major university endowment, and now a U.S. state treasury.
