Imagine if any government used Bitcoin or crypto the same way it uses gold or stocks to grow your retirement savings. North Carolina is currently considering doing just that. There are bills in the House and Senate of North Carolina that would allow the state’s treasurer to invest up to 5% of different state retirement funds in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
House Bill 506, the Investment Modernization Act, was introduced by Representative Brenden Jones on March 24. It would set up a separate investment authority within the state’s treasury. This group’s work would be to decide which digital assets can go into the state retirement funds.
Retirement Money May Soon Ride the Crypto Wave
The bill that was introduced in the state Senate on 25 March, Senate Bill 709, the State Investment Modernization Act, is that same bill.
The bills say that a digital asset is any electronic asset that gives you economic, proprietary, or access rights. This includes cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and other similar things.
Other crypto bills in other states do set market cap requirements for digital assets as they make their way into state laws, but the North Carolina bills don’t.
The new organization, which will be called the North Carolina Investment Authority, would have to carefully consider the risks and benefits by checking each asset’s risk and reward potential of each digital asset and make sure the money is kept in a safe place.
On X, Bitcoin legislation tracker Bitcoin Laws said that House Bill 506 is not a Bitcoin reserve bill because it doesn’t require the investment authority to hold Bitcoin or any digital asset for a long time.
North Carolina is keen to join the Bitcoin Law Trend
The Bitcoin Reserve and Investment Act (Senate Bill 327) was introduced by North Carolina senators on March 18, which includes the idea of investing up to 10% of public funds specifically in Bitcoin.
Republicans Todd Johnson, Brad Overcash, and Timothy Moffitt have introduced this bill. They believe this bill talks about using Bitcoin investment as a “financial innovation strategy” so that North Carolina’s economy can become stronger.
The treasurer is responsible for securing the Bitcoin in a multi-signature cold storage wallet. The BTC could only be sold during a “severe financial crisis” and only with the approval of two-thirds of the General Assembly of North Carolina.
The bill would also set up a Bitcoin Economic Advisory Board to watch how the reserve is managed.
Bitcoin Law says that 41 Bitcoin reserve bills have been introduced in other U.S. states in 23 states. 35 of these bills are still alive.
US President Donald Trump signed an order earlier this month to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve and a digital asset stockpile. Both will use cryptocurrency that has been taken back by the government in criminal cases.
