North Carolina government passes Bitcoin bill

North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed 16 bills today, one of which is House Bill 289, which expands the interstate remittances act to include activities related to Bitcoin and other blockchain-based digital currencies.

The bill was passed after a series of talks with U.S. blockchain and digital currency companies and local regulators. In interviews with CoinDesk, major advocacy groups strongly supported the measure, saying it was a step forward for the domestic industry.

Perianne Boring, president of the Chamber of Digital Commerce (CDC), one of the bill's supporters, said the bill "makes history" by providing an alternative, law-based model for business-specific rulemaking.

“The fact that it made it through the legislative process is a big step forward and will definitely give North Carolina more clarity than other states,” Boring told CoinDesk.

Boring said that the CDC’s membership, which includes stakeholders such as IBM, Microsoft, RRE Ventures and Ripple, also largely supports the bill.

“This is a business-friendly bill that provides better guidance for businesses,” Boring continued.
Other members of the industry were more cautious about the bill.

Jerry Brito, director of the nonprofit Coin Center, acknowledged that the bill could provide clarity for businesses, but he did not think it should be a model for other states to follow.

"It's a good compromise, but that doesn't mean it's the best bill," Brito said.

He also thinks the bill could have done a better job of providing access for startups and more clearly defined the circumstances under which a company is controlled by consumer money.