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The Texas House of Representatives approved the Digital Asset Service Providers Bill on April 20.
invoice received 148 votes Agree, disagree zero. Only one vote is abstained.
Also known as a “Proof of Reserve” bill. HB1666 It was introduced in January by Giovanni Capriglione and aims to establish rules for exchanges and other companies that offer cryptocurrency-related services.
It is pending approval by the Senate and the Governor before it becomes law.
HB1666
The bill defines a digital asset service provider (DASP) as “an electronic platform that facilitates digital asset transactions on behalf of customers of digital assets and maintains control over their customers’ digital assets.”
Additionally, DASP is a company with over 500 customers and over $10 million in customer funding.
If passed, the measure would require DASPs to hold customer funds in reserves and periodically disclose these holdings to the Texas banking sector. Companies are also required to disclose their liabilities to customers.
By mandating reserves and disclosure of these reserves, Texas intends to protect investors and customers from situations like FTX and Celsius, where customers’ funds are stuck when companies go bankrupt. increase.
Texas Calls for More Regulations
The Lone Star state has been one of the most active states in terms of establishing regulation of the cryptocurrency industry in recent months, with lawmakers introducing several bills in the House of Representatives.
Beyond HB 1666, the state is also considering a bill called SB 1751. The bill aims to eliminate benefits and subsidies for cryptocurrency miners and limit their participation in state electricity demand response programs.
However, unlike the reserve bill, SB 1751 has received a lot of pushback from the cryptocurrency industry for being too aggressive.
Proponents of cryptocurrencies argue that the bill will adversely affect the more than 20,000 local jobs created by mining in recent years, slowing future growth.
Additionally, if the bill is passed, we expect the cost of key grid services for consumers to rise as miners currently offer these services at the lowest cost.
However, lawmakers who introduced the bill believe the mining industry does not need state support for continued growth.
