texas

Texas State Representative Ron Reynolds submitted HB 815, a bill that allows each city and county in the state to invest up to 10 million dollars of public funds in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. The bill was submitted on the first day of the pre-filing period for the 90th Texas Legislature and will amend the Public Funds Investment Act by adding Section 2256.0165 "Authorized Investment: Cryptocurrency." If it becomes law, this authorization will take effect on September 1, 2027.The 10 million dollars is a cap for each city or county, not a statewide pooled fund, and school districts and other local governments subject to the investment law are not included. The bill adopts the definition of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency from last year's SB 21, which established the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, so cities or counties are not limited to Bitcoin. The bill does not introduce a requirement for the purchased tokens to have an average market value of at least 50 billion dollars over the past 24 months, nor does it include provisions for cold storage and qualified custodians, and it does not specify regulations for custody, digital asset audits, or loss handling.This bill is a narrowed version of last year's proposal. Reynolds previously submitted HB 4258 with Mihaela Plesa on March 10, 2025, allowing the state auditor to invest up to 250 million dollars from the Economic Stabilization Fund in Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies, and set the same 10 million dollar cap for cities and counties, but it did not become law. Texas's own reserve was established separately through SB 21, signed by Governor Greg Abbott in June 2025. The Texas State Auditor's Office purchased 5 million dollars of BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust on November 20, 2025, as a transition, and the second purchase brought the reserve's IBIT exposure to about 10 million dollars. The regular session of the 90th Legislature will convene on January 12, 2027, and the bill has not yet been submitted to committee.

Elon Musk stated that SpaceX and Tesla are able to thrive in Texas because they do not have to operate under an oppressive and predatory state government.

Elon Musk stated that Tesla plans to gradually reduce Cybertruck production at its Texas factory starting in mid-2027 to expand the production of Cybercab.Tesla began producing Cybertruck at its Austin factory in 2023, but market demand has been poor. Tesla has been producing the golden two-seater Cybercab at the Austin factory as an important part of its transformation plan.

Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa stated that all currently approved data centers in Texas will be allowed to complete construction. This essentially covers all projects through 2027 and is likely to continue into 2028.Hinojosa will ensure through legislation that all newly approved data centers must pay taxes, commit not to raise electricity prices for consumers, not affect the availability of water resources for the public, use union labor for construction, and provide "a seat for Texans."

Texas Governor-elect Gina Inohosa stated, "Don't hate data centers, hate how they take advantage of Texans. We can establish a strong partnership with Musk and his companies on our terms. We must halt the current construction of data centers until we find measures to protect the safety of Texans."

According to Fortune, Elon Musk donated at least $474 million to Republican candidates for the 2026 midterm elections, nearly double the amount donated before the 2024 presidential election, with about $200 million directed towards Texas. The election results showed that Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton and Governor Greg Abbott both lost to their Democratic opponents.Musk also donated $30 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund and $44 million to other Republican groups and candidates. After the election results were announced, the stock prices of SpaceX and Tesla, both headquartered in Texas, fell on Wednesday.

Strategy founder and chairman Michael Saylor posted on X that Florida has elected a Republican governor who supports a U.S. Bitcoin reserve, and Texas has elected a Democratic senator who previously voted in favor of establishing a Bitcoin reserve in the state. The reasons for holding Bitcoin transcend party lines.In the 2026 midterm elections, Republican federal representative Byron Donalds defeated Democrat David Jolly to become the governor of Florida. He proposed H.R. 2112, which aims to provide legal authority for an executive order to establish a federal strategic Bitcoin reserve and digital asset reserve, and stated during his campaign that Florida already has proposals for establishing a strategic reserve.Democratic state representative James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton to become the federal senator from Texas, making him the first Democrat to win a statewide election in the state since 1994. Legislative records show that he voted in favor of SB21, which aimed to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve in Texas during his time as a state representative. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed related legislation in 2025.

According to the election forecasting agency Decision Desk Headquarters (DDHQ), Democrat James Talarico is predicted to win the federal Senate seat in Texas, defeating Republican Ken Paxton. This marks the first significant victory for the Democrats in Texas since 1988.This result brings the Democrats closer to regaining a majority in the Senate. The Democrats need a net gain of 4 seats to retake the Senate majority, and according to U.S. media predictions, the Democrats have flipped and won in the Senate elections in North Carolina and South Carolina.

According to Catcher Predict monitoring, in the market prediction event "Texas Governor Election Winner" on Polymarket, the "Yes" option for the sub-market "Gina Hinojosa (D)" has experienced significant fluctuations, rising from 46.5% an hour ago to the current 78.5% (a fluctuation of 32%). Please note the impact of related breaking news.

Samsung Electronics will build a second wafer fabrication plant in Taylor, Texas, to produce high bandwidth memory chips for AMD and NVIDIA. The plant is expected to break ground this month, utilizing 2-nanometer process technology, covering approximately 2.7 million square feet, and being 1.5 times the size of the first plant.Equipment installation is expected in February 2029, with mass production starting in 2030.

According to a notice from the U.S. Department of Justice, two Texas men, Raymond Christian Garcia and Isiah Angelo Garcia, were sentenced to 180 months and 186 months in prison, respectively, for armed kidnapping of a family and extorting cryptocurrency in Minnesota in September 2025. The two pleaded guilty in June 2026 and were sentenced on October 29.Court documents show that on September 19, 2025, the two broke into the victims' home, bound the family with zip ties, and held them at gunpoint for over 9 hours, forcing the victims to hand over access to their cryptocurrency accounts.As the amount transferred by the victims did not meet their expectations, the two further forced the victims to drive to their cabin in northern Minnesota to retrieve more cryptocurrency storage devices and complete the transfer, ultimately coercing the victims to transfer over 8 million dollars in cryptocurrency. After the victim's son called 911, the two fled and were later arrested near Houston, Texas.

According to disclosures from Yingke Law Firm, the sale of the Texas mining assets related to Poolin's debtors has been approved by the Bankruptcy Court of New Jersey, USA. The transaction price is up to approximately 180 million USD, of which 100 million USD is for the delivery payment, and an additional up to 80 million USD is linked to subsequent milestones.The general deadline for creditor claims is set for December 31, 2026, at 4 PM Eastern Time, which is 5 AM Beijing Time on January 1, 2027; the court plans to hold a hearing on November 10. Creditors who are legally required to submit proof of claims may affect the confirmation of claims, plan voting, and subsequent distributions if they do not file by the final deadline set by the court. Yingke lawyer Wang Yufeng stated that the Poolin case involves a large number of Chinese users, and the claims include platform balances, IOUs, and mining pool earnings, and submitting materials does not equate to completing an effective claim.

The super political action committee Digital Freedom Fund, initiated by Gemini co-founders Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss in 2025, submitted documents to the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday, reporting for the first time advertising expenses exceeding $81,000 to support Republican candidate Ken Paxton's campaign for the Texas Senate seat, while opposing Democratic candidate James Talarico. Early voting in Texas began on October 19, with Election Day on November 3.As of September 30, the PAC has raised approximately $34 million, and its expenditures are not limited to Texas. Documents show its involvement in the Ohio Senate race between Republican candidate Jon Husted and Democratic candidate Sherrod Brown, bringing its total support for Husted to about $7 million. Another crypto industry PAC, Fairshake, also reported over $13 million in direct mail advertising expenditures this week, with approximately $9 million supporting Husted and over $4 million opposing independent candidate Dan Osborn in the Nebraska Senate election.These expenditures indicate potential support for candidates who favor crypto policies and legislation. Prediction contracts from Kalshi and Polymarket suggest that Democrats are favored to regain majority control of the House and Senate by 2027, and the majority party in both chambers will influence the legislative process for bills like the Digital Asset Market Structure Act, which failed to pass procedural voting in the Senate last month. Paxton previously defeated incumbent Senator John Cornyn in the May Republican primary, receiving over $500,000 in advertising support from the Fellowship PAC, backed by Anchorage Digital and Cantor Fitzgerald, with the funds executed through the Nxum Group co-founded by Bo Hines.

Market news reports that TSMC is considering building a multi-billion dollar campus in Texas, USA, to produce more artificial intelligence chips.

TSMC is considering expanding its production layout in the United States, planning to build a second manufacturing base in Dallas, Texas, which may include up to 6 advanced wafer fabs.The total investment for the new wafer fabs may exceed the $265 billion that TSMC has committed to invest in its Arizona facility.TSMC has not yet made a formal response to this news.

According to the Economic Daily, citing sources from the semiconductor equipment industry, TSMC plans to expand its manufacturing presence in the United States. Following Arizona, it is set to initiate plans for a second park in the U.S., with a high likelihood of establishing six advanced wafer fabs in Dallas, Texas. Reports indicate that if the second park is launched, the total investment is expected to exceed the $265 billion in Arizona, linking Arizona's wafer manufacturing with Texas's advanced ecosystem. As of September 28, the reporter has not received a response from TSMC; supply chain operators stated that the owner has not yet notified preparations, and the board has not yet made a decision.The total investment in TSMC's wafer fab in Phoenix, Arizona, has now increased to $265 billion, with plans including six wafer fabs, two advanced packaging plants, and a research and development center. Reports suggest that TSMC's considerations for increasing its overseas presence include proximity to customers, diversification of geopolitical risks, and overcoming resource limitations such as land, water, and electricity in Taiwan. U.S. customers accounted for approximately 75.64% of TSMC's revenue in the first half of 2026.There are widespread rumors in the industry that TSMC is responding to demands from customers like NVIDIA, Intel, AMD, and Apple for local production in the U.S., while facing pressure from the U.S. government, which has threatened that chip manufacturers must relocate back to the U.S. or face tariffs of up to 200%. Dallas and North Texas are known as the "Silicon Prairie," with local factories established by Texas Instruments, Coherent, Samsung, and Tesla. Reports indicate that the Arizona facility still faces challenges such as water shortages, power shortages, and labor shortages, while Texas offers talent, lower tax burdens, and stable electricity, leading supply chain operators to believe that site evaluations are nearing completion.

According to TheEnergyMag, Bitcoin mining company MARA announced that it has paid a $100 million power deposit for its data center project in Matagorda County, Texas, and has adjusted the payment and exit terms of its deal with sustainable fuel developer HIF USA.The project is located southwest of Houston, covering over 1,200 acres, with a planned power capacity of up to 2 gigawatts. MARA plans to use it to build a facility supporting high-performance computing and Bitcoin mining. According to the revised agreement, some payments originally tied to regulatory approval will be adjusted to be paid in two installments, and if all milestones are met, the total acquisition price for the project will still be capped at $600 million.

According to court documents, the Bitcoin mining company Hut 8 has made a bid of $140 million to become the winning bidder for the two data center sites of the bankrupt mining company Poolin located in Texas. The bid includes cash and other considerations, covering Poolin's Pyote and Tarbush sites. The transaction must be approved by the bankruptcy court in New Jersey before it can be completed, with a sale hearing scheduled for September 29.Hut 8's bid is nearly three times the initial bid of $52 million from Thor CALAP, which offered $15 million for the Pyote site and $37 million for the Tarbush site. Additionally, DigiPower X bid $36.5 million for Pyote, while Pecos Industrial Development, designated by the AI infrastructure company Fluidstack, bid $100.5 million for Tarbush. Poolin and its two U.S. affiliates filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July after shutting down mining and hosting operations at the Texas sites. Court documents indicate that its debts amount to approximately $173.1 million, of which about $163.7 million are unsecured promissory notes owed to Poolin Wallet users after withdrawals were frozen in 2022.This acquisition will further expand Hut 8's data center footprint. The former Bitcoin mining company is deeply investing in AI infrastructure, with its second-quarter financial report released in August showing a development pipeline of approximately 8.7 gigawatts, an increase of about 300 megawatts quarter-over-quarter.

Bitcoin Magazine posted on X that students from East Texas A&M University announced the construction of the first post-quantum secure solution for the Bitcoin Lightning Network.The Lightning Network is a second-layer payment network for Bitcoin, and post-quantum security generally refers to protective designs against potential vulnerabilities in existing cryptography posed by future quantum computing.

According to Catcher Predict monitoring, in the Polymarket event "Boston Red Sox vs. Texas Rangers," the option "Boston Red Sox" in the sub-market "1st 5 Innings Spread -1.5" has experienced significant fluctuations in winning probability, soaring from 32% an hour ago to the current 49.5% (a fluctuation of 17.5%). Please note the impact of related breaking news.