Texas will require the firm it hires to custody its Bitcoin to publish a live, public dashboard showing the state’s holdings and valuations — a transparency requirement that sets the Lone Star State apart from most institutional crypto investors. What happened - The Texas Comptroller’s office announced the disclosure mandate last Thursday as it unveiled an advisory committee to steer the state’s new Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. - Texas has been holding roughly $10 million in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) as a temporary, bridge position while officials design a longer-term plan. That plan now calls for moving away from ETF exposure and into Bitcoin held directly in the state’s name. The procurement and timeline - On May 7 the comptroller issued a request for proposals (RFP) seeking a custody and liquidity provider to execute the transition. - The winning firm will have 60 days after contract signing to convert the existing IBIT holdings into Bitcoin held in direct custody for the state. - The RFP makes clear the provider’s responsibilities extend beyond storage: acquisitions and sales, day‑to‑day management, reporting, and other functions needed to operate a state‑level Bitcoin reserve. Who will advise the reserve Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock named four members to the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Advisory Committee: - Laurie Dotter — veteran investment executive - Jamie McAvity — founder and CEO, Cormint Data Systems - Carla Reyes — digital asset law professor, Southern Methodist University - Gary Vecchiarelli — president and CFO, CleanSpark The committee will weigh in on custody arrangements, risk management, how the state reports reserve performance to lawmakers, and broader investment strategy going forward. Future scope and rationale - The RFP leaves room for the reserve to expand beyond Bitcoin to other large‑cap cryptocurrencies, though no specific assets have been named. - The reserve itself was created by state legislation that allocated $10 million to the initiative. Supporters framed the move as building a potential buffer against inflation and economic swings, with IBIT used initially as a convenient bridge to direct ownership. Why it matters Publishing a real‑time public ledger of holdings — updated live and accessible to anyone — is an unusual transparency step for an institutional holder and could set a new standard for how public entities report crypto reserves. Proposals for the custody contract are open via the state’s procurement portal. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news