The North Carolina House of Representatives passed a bill allowing the state treasurer to invest public funds in approved cryptocurrencies. The bill is now awaiting review in the Senate.
On April 30 (local time), the state House passed House Bill 92 (HB92), named the 'Digital Assets Investment Act', with a third vote of 71 votes in favor and 44 against. The bill, first proposed by Republican House Speaker Destin Hall in February, allows the treasurer to invest up to 5% of state-managed assets in designated digital assets.
According to the bill, all digital asset investments are only possible if the cryptocurrency assets are stored through a secure custody solution and meet risk control and regulatory compliance standards, as evaluated by an independent third party. This is interpreted as a measure to ensure investment stability and protect public funds.
The bill also includes a provision to review the possibility of state officials participating in retirement pensions and deferred compensation plans investing indirectly in digital assets through exchange-traded products (ETPs). This suggests potential portfolio diversification for public pension funds in the future.
On the same day, the House also passed the 'State Investment Modernization Act' (HB506), closely linked to the Digital Assets Investment Act, with 110 votes in favor and only 3 against. This bill transfers some investment authority from the existing state treasurer to a newly established agency called the North Carolina Investment Authority (NCIA).
If this law is enacted, the investment authority for digital assets will also be transferred from the treasurer to the NCIA, and future investment decisions will require approval from the NCIA board based on independent evaluations. This can be seen as an intention to establish a more professional and systematic review procedure for cryptocurrency investments.
Current Treasurer Brad Briner expressed support for both bills in an interview with local media NC News Line, supporting the state government's intention to expand digital asset adoption.
These bills are also drawing attention as a representative example of cryptocurrency asset acceptance in the public sector following the pro-cryptocurrency stance of former President Trump during the last election.
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