In a landmark shift for state-level finance, Texas has officially transitioned from a passive storage approach to an actively managed, state-operated precious metals supply chain. The initiative was announced via live stream from the Texas State Capitol, introducing a pioneering "point-of-government" online marketplace that allows the public to purchase state-branded gold and silver directly through the Comptroller's office.
This move marks the first time a U.S. state has established a closed-loop system for precious metals, integrating the entire process from manufacturing and vault storage to direct consumer sales.
"Texas is the first U.S. state to create a complete, closed-loop system for precious metals, spanning manufacturing, vaulting, and direct-to-consumer sales," stated Josh Phair, CEO of Scottsdale Mint, in an exclusive interview with Kitco News. "By launching its own branded coins and gold notes through the official 'point-of-government' marketplace, the state is building a tangible alternative outside the traditional financial system."
While states like Wyoming and Utah have made headlines for recognizing gold and silver as legal tender, Texas's plan establishes a new "sovereign distributor" infrastructure. The program includes the 2026 Texas Lone Star Coins—available in one-ounce gold and silver versions—as well as official Texas Gold Notes, which are thin, durable notes containing a verifiable layer of 24-karat gold.
These products are not merely commemorative. They are deeply integrated with the Texas Bullion Depository, the only state-administered and audited vault facility in the United States. Investors can now purchase precious metals through the Comptroller's official website and choose to store them within the state’s secure infrastructure, effectively bypassing the traditional commercial banking system.
"This is a new paradigm," Phair told Kitco News. "With the monetary base being diluted and the federal budget in disarray, states are increasingly viewing physical metal as an essential treasury asset."
Texas is not alone in pursuing sovereignty over physical assets. Wyoming, a pioneer in this area, recently passed the Wyoming Legal Tender Act and is exploring a "sovereign buyer" model where the state treasury holds physical gold. However, Texas has advanced the concept by becoming a distributor. While Wyoming focuses on state-level asset ownership, Texas is building comprehensive infrastructure to enable residents to seamlessly hold, spend, and store state-branded metals.
Phair confirmed that this competitive landscape is accelerating, noting that legislative bodies in several other states are actively discussing the development of similar physical metal infrastructure to hedge against federal monetary policy.
Texas's initiative coincides with a major regulatory shift in the global banking system. Under the recently implemented Basel III "endgame" reforms, physical gold has been elevated to a Tier 1 high-quality liquid asset. This allows banks and sovereign entities to count allocated physical gold at 100% of its market value toward liquidity reserves, placing it on par with cash and top-rated government bonds.
Phair emphasized that this regulatory change is driving an institutional-level "scramble for physical assets." "Under Basel III, physical gold is now a 100% zero-risk asset, which is why we're seeing states build their own physical infrastructure. They require ownership rights, audit rights, and jurisdictional security," he said.
The entry of sovereign distributors like Texas into the market comes at a time of extreme physical supply and demand pressure. As gold prices approach $5,100 per ounce and silver trends toward $83, Phair warned that current demand is beginning to outstrip global refining and delivery capacity.
"Due to record demand, we anticipate real physical supply constraints by the third quarter of 2026," Phair stated.
He noted that refineries are already facing significant order backlogs, and international metal flows are shifting from traditional hubs like London and New York toward jurisdictions with stronger custodial security.
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