“It’s destined to happen somewhere. I’d rather it happen here first.”

Giovanni Capriglione
Texas State Representative
Chair, Pensions, Investments, and Financial Services Committee
…on the potential for Texas to create a Bitcoin strategic reserve ahead of federal initiatives, speaking at the Texas Blockchain Summit in Dallas this week.

Earlier this week, Texas state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione joined Texas Blockchain Council President Lee Bratcher and U.S. Blockchain Coalition Executive Director Arry Yu to discuss the “State of Play” in digital assets policy during on-stage discussion at the Texas Blockchain Summit held at the George W. Bush Presidential Center.

When asked about the prospect of a federal Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (proposed by Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming) and whether a state might beat the federal government in establishing one, Capriglione said he’d like to see Texas create it first.

With Polymarket prediction markets showing odds “hovering around 50%” on whether the federal government will create such a reserve, Rep. Capriglione took “the under” on federal action but expressed enthusiasm for Texas moving first, noting that at least one Texas senator has expressed interest in the concept.

Bratcher posited a unique approach—instead of using taxpayer funds, the reserve could be advocate-funded. “It would be great if the community itself would participate in creating this,” Rep. Capriglione replied, noting it would prove up cryptocurrency’s decentralized nature.

“The Texas model” of innovation, as Capriglione called it, involves getting stakeholder input early and often on new technology policies, like the AI legislation currently in progress.

Capriglione, a Republican House member representing District 98 with an IT background and named to Dallas Innovates’ AI 75 last spring, co-chairs a state advisory board on artificial intelligence.

Texas state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione

Capriglione noted Texas’s growth as a financial center, mentioning the December application for what could become “the Texas Wall Street” in Dallas—or “Y’all Street” as it’s being called.

“One out of every 10 public companies is already here in Texas,” he noted, adding that “we are not going to just trade. We’re going to list companies.”

The financial sector growth, combined with Texas’s innovation-friendly regulatory environment, creates fertile ground for digital asset initiatives. Major relocations tell the story—Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo are moving thousands of employees to Dallas-Fort Worth, while Charles Schwab’s headquarters and Fidelity’s largest location operate in Capriglione’s North Texas district.

The dollars back up this transformation. “We’ve got already looking at a $25 billion surplus going into next session,” Capriglione said. “We have a government that has run incredibly well over the last few years. We have, last I checked, about 1,300 people a day moving into Texas and a big chunk of those moving into Dallas-Fort Worth.”

The upcoming 89th legislative session will focus on technology across the board—from data centers and energy to cybersecurity. As chair of the Financial Services Committee, Capriglione noted that a wide range of bills are expected, with over 1,474 filed in just the first week after the election. While some may be more restrictive, he emphasized Texas’s commitment to “common sense regulations that don’t restrict innovation.”

“All the cool innovative stuff, from quantum computing to crypto is going to happen here in Texas,” he told the audience, highlighting the state’s commitment to emerging technologies.

For more of who said what about all things North Texas, check out Every Last Word.

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