Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock on Thursday announced the members of the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Advisory Committee, a newly created body charged with directing the state’s management, custody, and valuation of bitcoin holdings.
The commission was established by Senate Bill 21, Pass By the 89th Texas Legislature and signed into law on June 22, 2025 – making Texas one of the most prominent states in the country moving forward with an operational Bitcoin reserve.
“The Legislature has given the Comptroller’s Office clear responsibility for managing the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, and this work must be done with transparency, security, and strong financial controls,” Hancock said in a statement. statement Thursday. “This advisory committee brings together the type of expertise needed to help the state implement this direction carefully, responsibly, and in the best interest of Texas taxpayers.”
The five-member panel – which includes Hancock himself – draws on a wide range of financial, legal and digital assets expertise.
Lori Dotter, who chairs the Texas Employees Retirement System’s Investment Advisory Board, has more than 35 years of investment and governance experience.
Jimmy Mcavity, founder and CEO of Cormint Data Systems, is a nationally recognized Bitcoin miner and operates a 130-megawatt facility in Fort Stockton with the highest efficiency ratings.
Legal scholar Carla Reyes, a professor at Southern Methodist University, currently serves on the Federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Innovation Advisory Committee and has testified before Congress on blockchain policy.
Completing the panel is Gary A. Vecchiarelli, CPA, President and CFO of CleanSpark, who built the company’s institutional-level BTC trading desk, return strategies, and digital asset management framework.
The office also issued a request for proposals Strive A qualified crypto custodian backing the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, which currently holds approximately $10 million of exposure via the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), with services covering safe custody, liquidity and asset management.
The move marks a planned transition from ETF-based exposure to directly held Bitcoin within 60 days of contract execution, reflecting a shift toward full ownership, institutional-level security, and broader crypto-asset support over time.
Washington’s Bitcoin reserve push faces hurdles
Texas’ move comes as the federal government continues to work to bolster its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve — a process that has proven more complex than initially expected.
President Trump I fell An executive order on March 6, 2025, directs the Treasury Department to create a reserve backed by bitcoin already held through criminal and civil asset forfeiture—an estimated 328,372 bitcoins, making the United States the largest known bitcoin-holding nation in the world.
The order expressly prohibits the Treasury Department from selling those bitcoins.
However, the path to a formal, legalized reserve has faced delays. In January 2026, Patrick Witt, executive director of the President’s Council of Advisors on Digital Assets, acknowledged that “vague legal provisions” still needed to be overcome.
By May 2026, Whit He pointed out A major legal breakthrough has been reached, saying a reserve announcement is imminent.
Legislation is also advancing in Congress to make the reserve permanent. The US Reserves Modernization Act — sponsored by Senator Cynthia Lummis and Representative Nick Begich — would authorize the Treasury Department to purchase up to 200,000 bitcoins annually for five years, while maintaining holdings for at least 20 years.
If passed, the Treasury Department’s first open market purchase of bitcoin is expected to take place in the fourth quarter of 2026.
