Digital asset investment bills introduced in both chambers in North Carolina

Legislators in both the Senate and House of Representatives of the American state of North Carolina will consider bills to create the North Carolina Investment Authority (NCIA) as an independent state agency. The NCIA would have oversight over state funds and investment strategies, including the option to invest up to 5% of the funds under its control in digital assets.

The 2025 State Investment Modernization Act was introduced into the House on March 24 and the Senate on March 25. The bills were introduced by Republican sponsors, making North Carolina the 19th state to have Bitcoin-related proposals in front of its legislature.

The bills create a new investment agency

Under the bills (H506 and S709), the NCIA would have oversight of funds including retirement systems, general funds, and special funds. It would be made up of a five-member board headed by the state treasurer, who will select the remaining members on the basis of their expertise. The NCIA board will choose a chief investment officer who will be responsible for day-to-day operations and staffing. 

The bills also provide greater flexibility for choosing assets, including digital assets with a 5% cap, and exempt the NCIA from some state regulations. At the same time, it introduces new governance requirements regarding transparency and the handling of illiquid investments.

The NCIA would be formed by July 1 and begin full operation on Jan. 1, 2026.

The bills are competing with other bills proposing 10% funds allocation

Different bills on digital asset investment (H92 and S327) were introduced into the chambers of the North Carolina legislature in February. Those bills would allow up to 10% of funds to be invested in digital assets. 

The Senate bill would create a Bitcoin Economic Advisory Board and require the approval of two-thirds of the General Assembly for the liquidation of Bitcoin holdings. The bills would also restrict investable digital assets to exchange-traded funds or assets with a market cap of over $750 billion. Only Bitcoin meets the market cap requirement.

These bills were also introduced unilaterally by Republicans. House Speaker Destin Hall endorsed H92. “Today, I filed HB 92, The North Carolina Digital Assets Investments Act, to authorize the NC State Treasurer to invest in qualifying digital assets like #Bitcoin — aligning with President Trump’s vision for a national Bitcoin stockpile and ensuring North Carolina leads at the state level,” Hall wrote on X on Feb. 10.

Trump issued an executive order creating a federal Bitcoin reserve on March 7.

The bills faced some opposition, with the State Employees Association of North Carolina speaking out against it, for example. “Retirees do not like the conversation about investing in this highly volatile currency. Past, present, and future state employees are taxpayers, and their promised benefits should not be played with,” a spokesman for that organization said. Those bills are now in committee.

North Carolina passed an anti-central bank digital currency (CBDC) law in September, overturning a veto by the then-governor to do so. The law prohibits the state from participating in the testing of a CBDC.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State in May. The Senate companion version in is the Banking Committee. Federal Reserve has repeatedly stated that it will not issue a CBDC without a Congressional mandate.

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