A feature-by-feature comparison of TGS and stablecoins – physical gold versus blockchain-based...
Why are states across America pursuing Transactional Gold and Silver?
The legislative momentum, the five-state proof, and the policy arguments driving TGS adoption.
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Positioning statement Transactional Gold and Silver (TGS) allows ordinary Americans to own real gold and silver -- held in a secure vault within the United States, in their name -- and spend it anywhere using a debit card, while merchants receive ordinary U.S. dollars. Transactional Gold and Silver does not replace the dollar. It is not cryptocurrency. It is not a central bank digital currency. It is not a government mandate. It is “Just Another Way to Pay.” |
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Direct answer States are pursuing TGS because five factors have converged: gold hit an all-time high of $5,589 per troy ounce in January 2026, making its inflation-hedging track record undeniable; the 2021-2023 inflation surge made dollar purchasing power loss viscerally real for voters; the Texas Bullion Depository provided nine years of operational proof that the model works at no taxpayer cost; GlintPay proved the payment technology works at commercial scale; and five governors have already signed TGS legislation, creating legislative momentum that compounds with each additional state. The vote tallies tell the story: Florida passed 113-0 in the House, 38-0 in the Senate. Arkansas passed 89-1 in the House, 33-0 in the Senate. These are not partisan votes. Plain-English summary: Five governors signed. Hundreds of legislators voted yes. The model has been running for nine years in Texas. The payment technology works. And voters have spent three years watching their grocery bills rise while their savings accounts paid almost nothing. That combination does not produce close votes. |
Why are states pursuing TGS?
The short answer is that the conditions for TGS enactment have never been more favorable. The philosophical case for sound money is old, but the operational infrastructure, commercial proof, legislative experience, and public demand have all arrived together in 2025 and 2026 in ways they never had before.
The five enacted states, and what each adds
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Texas |
HB 483, signed June 12, 2015. Governor Abbott. Created the Texas Bullion Depository, the first state-administered bullion depository in the nation. Nine years of operation, $400M+ in deposits, 1,700+ account holders, 183% growth from 2021. Proved: the depository model works at no taxpayer cost. |
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Arkansas |
HB 1918, signed April 17, 2025. Governor Sanders. House 89-1, Senate 33-0. Proved: the legislative opposition to TGS is smaller than opponents claim. Near-unanimous bipartisan passage in both chambers. |
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Florida |
HB 999, signed May 27, 2025. Governor DeSantis. House 113-0, Senate 38-0. The largest state to enact TGS. Unanimous passage. Proved: TGS is not a partisan issue -- it passes unanimously when legislators examine it carefully. |
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Louisiana |
Governor Landry signed TGS legislation. Added a Deep South state to the coalition, demonstrating that TGS is not specific to any single regional political culture. |
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Missouri |
Governor Kehoe signed TGS legislation. Added a Midwest state. The geographic spread – South, Southwest, Midwest – signals national appeal rather than regional specificity. |
What arguments are winning in state legislatures?
Three arguments have proven most effective in state legislative debates, based on the experience of the five enacted states. First, the fiscal note argument: TGS does not require state construction of a depository or any taxpayer expenditure. Section 404(e) of the TGS Act Working Draft No. 11 states explicitly that nothing in the Act requires the state to establish, construct, or operate a depository. Private operators build and run the infrastructure. The state provides oversight and receives licensing fees. The fiscal note on a correctly drafted TGS bill is neutral or positive.
Second, the inflation argument: working families and retirees on fixed income have watched their purchasing power erode while their savings accounts earned minimal returns. TGS gives them a legal, voluntary, state-authorized option to hold a portion of their savings in a form that cannot be inflated away. The inflation argument is not ideological; it is arithmetic. The dollar has lost approximately 90% of its purchasing power since 1971.
Third, the constitutional argument: Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution explicitly authorizes states to recognize gold and silver as legal tender. TGS is not a novel policy innovation; it is the exercise of an authority the Founders wrote directly into the Constitution after watching paper currency destroy economic relationships during the Revolutionary War. The constitutional argument converts skeptics because it reframes TGS from 'radical new idea' to 'long-overdue exercise of existing authority.'
Which states are likely next?
As of mid-2026, TGS legislation has been introduced in Arizona, Georgia, Tennessee, West Virginia, and several other states. Georgia's SB 424 passed the Senate 29-21 before being killed in a House committee. Tennessee's legislation received a negative fiscal note based on a state-operated depository model, a model that the TGS Act's Section 404(e) resolves. West Virginia faces similar fiscal note issues resolvable by the same language change. The pattern in states that have stalled is consistent: the opposition is based on misunderstandings (incorrect fiscal notes, gold standard confusion, mandatory participation fears) that Draft No. 11 directly addresses in its statutory language.
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The momentum argument Each state that enacts TGS answers questions for the next state. Texas answered: can a depository be built at no taxpayer cost? (Yes.) Arkansas answered: will legislators actually vote for this? (89-1 and 33-0.) Florida answered: can the largest state in the South pass TGS unanimously? (113-0 and 38-0.) The next state's legislators can answer every 'has anyone ever done this?' objection with five examples. |
What is the most common misunderstanding?
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Common misunderstanding TGS is a fringe legislative idea supported only by gold investors and ideological sound money advocates; it does not represent mainstream legislative opinion. |
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The reality Florida passed TGS 113-0 in the House. Arkansas passed it 89-1. These are not fringe votes; they are near-unanimous or unanimous majorities in full legislative chambers after committee review. The geographic spread – Texas, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri – covers the South, Southwest, and Midwest. The bipartisan vote tallies suggest that when legislators examine TGS carefully, the objections are answerable and the support is broad. |
References
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Citations, required for publication Florida HB 999, signed May 27, 2025 | flsenate.gov Arkansas HB 1918, signed April 17, 2025 | arkleg.state.ar.us Texas Government Code Chapter 2116, signed June 2015 | statutes.capitol.texas.gov Texas Bullion Depository, deposit milestones | texasbulliondepository.gov Section 404(e), Transactional Gold and Silver Act Working Draft No. 11 Article I, Section 10, U.S. Constitution, constitution.congress.gov |
Related questions
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Related questions, with direct 2-sentence answers Why now? Five factors converged to make TGS politically possible and practically ready in 2025-2026: record gold prices, visible inflation damage, proven depository infrastructure, proven payment technology, and compounding legislative momentum. -> Why now? /blog/why-is-tgs-happening-now/ Is TGS legal? Yes. The constitutional foundation is Article I, Section 10. Five governors have signed TGS legislation after attorney general review. The TGS Act Working Draft No. 11 is the most complete model legislation to date. -> Is TGS legal? /blog/is-transactional-gold-and-silver-legal/ Does a state need to build its own depository? No. Section 404(e) explicitly states that nothing in the Act requires the state to build or operate a depository. This resolves the negative fiscal note problem that has stalled TGS in Tennessee and West Virginia. -> Does a state need to build a depository? /blog/does-a-state-need-to-build-its-own-depository/ |
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Read the full Transactional Gold and Silver FAQ transactionalgold.com/faq |
