Texas Moves Its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Toward Direct Custody
Texas issued an RFP on May 7 for institutional custody and liquidity services for its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, then named the reserve's advisory committee on May 28. The procurement moved the state project from statutory creation toward the operational machinery needed to acquire, secure, manage and publicly report bitcoin holdings.
On May 7, 2026, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts issued a request for proposals for custody and liquidity services for the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The document sought a provider capable of securely acquiring, holding and managing the reserve's digital assets, handling institutional-grade key management and operational controls, and supporting public reporting. Proposals were due in June, with contract execution then anticipated for late August.
The procurement was a significant step because Texas had already created the reserve in law. The question in May was no longer whether a reserve should exist but how the state would operate one. A Bitcoin reserve requires more than an appropriation: the state needs procedures for purchasing coins, custody architecture, key security, liquidity management, governance and auditable reporting. The RFP translated the legal concept into an operational specification.
On May 28, Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock named members of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Advisory Committee and again highlighted the custody-and-liquidity procurement. The committee was intended to advise on reserve administration while the selected service provider would carry out the specialized infrastructure work. The Comptroller's office also described plans for a public website showing reserve holdings and educational material.
The May episode therefore represents an implementation phase in state-level Bitcoin adoption. Texas had moved beyond symbolic reserve legislation and was building the administrative and custody framework required for direct holdings. Actual acquisition and custody would depend on later procurement and implementation stages, but May established the machinery through which a U.S. state intended to manage a Bitcoin reserve as an institutional asset.