North Carolina lawmakers are considering legislation to permit the investment of state funds in cryptocurrencies. (Photo illustration by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
North Carolina’s treasurer could invest state dollars into Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies under a bill being considered in the House.
House Bill 92, backed by House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Caldwell), would expand the state’s portfolio to include a range of digital assets. The state treasurer — Brad Briner, a Republican — could invest up to 10% of state funds in those assets if he chooses.
“The whole investment field has changed over the last few years,” Rep. Stephen Ross (R-Alamance), a co-sponsor of the bill, told members of the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee on Tuesday. “Over the last ten years, this has gone mainstream.”
Under the bill, the state could not directly invest into a specific currency. Rather, the money could be put in the crypto equivalent of mutual funds. And although the bill outlines a range of eligible digital assets — including “stablecoins” and “nonfungible tokens” (NFTs) — it specifies that the invested assets must have a market cap of over $750 billion, effectively limiting it to Bitcoin.
“That takes away any risk involved in trying to invest in some small, off the wall cryptocurrency,” said Ross.
A staffer for Briner signaled his office’s support for the legislation during a committee hearing Tuesday, saying it was “in line with (Briner’s) principles for how he wants to run the department.” Briner’s predecessor, Dale Folwell, offered a much more conservative approach to pension fund investments.
But committee members on both sides of the aisle expressed some skepticism about the proposal and asked to displace the bill and hear directly from the state treasurer before taking any votes — a plea to which committee co-chair, Rep. John Sauls (R- Lee), agreed.
“I don’t understand as clearly as I wish I did to make a good decision,” said Rep. Julia Howard (R-Davie), who also serves as senior chair of the House Finance Committee.
“I’ve tried to get my arms around, what is this stuff? Where is it? Where’s it come from? And apparently more is being created, and supply and demand is going to affect the price,” said Rep. John Blust (R-Guilford) in sharing his own confusion about the industry.
Republican sponsors have touted the legislation as an opportunity to improve gains for the state’s pension fund. A representative for the State Employees Association of North Carolina (SEANC) pushed back on that assertion, saying it could “damage” benefits for workers.
“Asking people who are directly affected to trust this type of investment is a stretch right now,” said SEANC lobbyist Flint Benson.
Multiple Democrats also voiced opposition to the bill. Rep. Bryan Cohn (D-Granville) said he had invested in some digital assets, but warned against the state’s involvement.
“I believe this industry is too immature for the state of North Carolina to put its assets into any fund,” Cohn said.
Legislators across the U.S. push crypto bills
Hall’s proposal is among a new national crop of pro-crypto legislation — as lawmakers on the state and federal levels look for ways to tap into the industry.
“Investing in digital assets like Bitcoin not only has the potential to generate positive yields for our state investment fund but also positions North Carolina as a leader in technological adoption & innovation,” Hall said in a February statement introducing the bill.
President Donald Trump has embraced the issue, saying Sunday he wanted the U.S. to purchase and hold crypto assets as part of a “strategic reserve.” And he has aligned himself closely with tech leaders who have been among the most vocal advocates of crypto.
Those advocates have touted crypto as both a versatile currency of the future, and an investment opportunity divorced from government and institutional control. They point to major, decade-long growth of top currencies, like Bitcoin. (BTC’s price sits at around $83,000; its market cap totals $1.56 trillion.)
Skeptics and opponents have warned that the industry is historically volatile, poorly regulated and heavy on energy usage. The 2022 collapse of major crypto exchange FTX — and subsequent jailing of its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried — is a top exhibit for those arguments.
The new bill is not North Carolina lawmakers’ first venture into crypto legislation. Last year, the General Assembly passed a bill banning the state from accepting payments using “central bank digital currencies.”
Those currencies are similar to crypto, but have a fixed value tied to a central bank. They’ve yet to be established in the U.S. Former Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed the bill, arguing that it was premature, but was overridden by the GOP-led legislature.