Don Huffines, a former U.S. Senator and current candidate for state governor of Texas, released a Bitcoin policy plan on his campaign website that outlines the approach he would take to make Texas a safe haven for Bitcoiners. In a statement following the release, Huffines said:

I have owned Bitcoin for years and am a strong believer in both its value as an asset and potential as a currency. As a leader in innovation, Texas must lead the nation on Bitcoin policy and cryptocurrency adoption. I am committed to making Texas the Citadel for Bitcoin and protecting the industry from the federal government.

In his policy plan, Huffines argues that Texas can serve as the nation’s leader in innovation and adoption of Bitcoin, “not only by acknowledging, supporting, and promoting the industry, but by also using our natural resources and the power of our state to legitimize bitcoin as a store of value, medium of exchange, and unit of account.” According to his plan, If elected, Huffines would:

  • Establish a “Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Policy Commission” to identify the utility of currencies that could be used as alternative mediums of exchange within the state of Texas that would be complementary to the U.S. Dollar.  
  • Declare bitcoin as legal tender for Texans to transact in.  
  • Work with energy producers, electric retailers, and miners to establish a “more robust and reliable energy grid” and to promote the use of flared or vented gas for bitcoin mining. 
  • Protect Texas “from federal government interference and Federal Reserve-induced inflation by holding a portion of state reserve funds to bitcoin and eliminating barriers to citizens owning, mining, and transacting in bitcoin.”
  • Offer Texas-based bitcoin holders and miners state protections from federal regulations.
  • Prohibit localities from regulating bitcoin holders and miners. 

Huffines joins a growing list of U.S. politicians spanning multiple levels of local, state, and federal government who have expressed support for Bitcoin and the wider cryptocurrency industry, including Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ted Cruz, Congressman Pat Toomey, and Mayors Scott Conger (Jackson, TN) and Francis Suarez (Miami, FL). 

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