Texas has passed a law granting law enforcement the authority to seize digital assets.
On June 20th, Texas lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1498. This gives law enforcement the power to seize the power to link digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), NFTS, Stubcoin and other cryptocurrencies to criminal activity. The bill has been fully approved and is expected to take effect on September 1st.
New laws allow digital assets to be seized if used or acquired in crimes such as drug trafficking, fraud, theft, organized crime, or human trafficking. It is also possible that the state will also be billed to increase the value of the seized assets between the time acquired and the time seized.
Law enforcement agencies must move seized assets related to these offences to a secure offline wallet that can only be accessed by the agency or state attorney. The forfeiture lawsuit will be filed in the county where the seizure agency is based.
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With SB1498, lawmakers bring digital properties under the same civil assets forfeiture rules already applied to cash, vehicles and real estate used in criminal acts. The lawmaker said SB1498 is addressing current legislative gaps and that digital assets are necessary to play an increasing role in financial crime.
Meanwhile, Arizona is updating its laws that expand its state forfeiture laws to include digital assets.
SB1498 arrived alongside SB21, signed with Texas Governor Greg Abbott on June 22, becoming the first state to allocate public funds to Texas and create a dedicated framework for holding Bitcoin. Controlled separately from the General Treasury Department, the reserve is intended to strengthen the state’s financial resilience and serve as a hedge against inflation.
Additionally, Texas is the third state in the US to pass the Bitcoin reserve law, following Arizona and New Hampshire.
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