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North Carolina House Bill H920

North Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session

North Carolina House Bill H920 Compare Versions

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11 GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
22 SESSION 2025
3-H 1
4-HOUSE BILL 920
3+H D
4+HOUSE BILL DRH40488-MU-20
5+
56
67
78 Short Title: NC Digital Asset Freedom Act. (Public)
8-Sponsors: Representatives N. Jackson, Ross, and Biggs (Primary Sponsors).
9-For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
10-Referred to: Commerce and Economic Development, if favorable, Finance, if favorable, Rules,
11-Calendar, and Operations of the House
12-April 14, 2025
13-*H920 -v-1*
9+Sponsors: Representative N. Jackson.
10+Referred to:
11+
12+*DRH40488 -MU-20*
1413 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
1514 AN ACT TO ALLOW THE USE OF DIGITAL ASSETS IN ECONOMIC TRANSACTIONS 2
1615 AND IN THE PAYMENT OF TAXES AND TO ESTABLISH PROTECTIONS FOR NEW 3
1716 CUSTOMERS TRANSMITTING DIGITAL ASSETS . 4
1817 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
1918 SECTION 1. Chapter 66 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article 6
2019 to read: 7
2120 "Article 52. 8
2221 "North Carolina Digital Asset Freedom Act. 9
2322 "§ 66-511. Short title. 10
2423 This Article may be cited as the North Carolina Digital Asset Freedom Act. 11
2524 "§ 66-512. Legislative findings. 12
2625 The General Assembly finds all of the following: 13
2726 (1) The General Assembly finds that digital assets, when properly regulated and 14
2827 aligned with principles of decentralization, security, and resilience, can be a 15
2928 valid and stable medium for economic exchange. 16
3029 (2) The principles set forth in this Article reflect North Carolina's commitment to 17
3130 fostering innovation, commerce, and privacy. 18
3231 (3) The General Assembly further finds that decentralized digital assets, which 19
3332 are not governed by any central entity or foundation, align with the economic 20
3433 principles of limited, noninflationary money and are capable of ensuring the 21
3534 security and integrity of transactions. 22
3635 "§ 66-513. Scope. 23
3736 This Article applies only to a digital asset that satisfies all of the following requirements: 24
3837 (1) Decentralization and fair issuance. – The digital asset shall have been 25
3938 launched fairly, without pre-mining, insider allocations, or central authority 26
4039 control, and shall not rely on a single entity, foundation, or small group of 27
4140 insiders for its ongoing operation or governance. 28
4241 (2) Lack of centralized governance. – The digital asset shall operate without 29
4342 unilateral control over protocol changes, and any upgrades shall occur through 30
4443 a decentralized, voluntary consensus mechanism that prevents governance 31
4544 capture. 32
4645 (3) Security and immutability. – The asset shall have a proven track record of 33
47-security spanning at least 10 years, without any successful protocol-level 34 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
48-Page 2 House Bill 920-First Edition
49-hacks or rollbacks. Transactions shall be immutable once confirmed, 1
50-preventing centralized actors from altering the ledger history. 2
51-(4) Market longevity and free market endurance. – The digital asset shall have 3
52-operated continuously in an open, permissionless market for at least 10 years, 4
53-without requiring external intervention or state support to maintain viability, 5
54-and shall have survived regulatory scrutiny without being classified as a 6
55-security. 7
56-(5) Liquidity and market depth. – The digital asset shall have a minimum market 8
57-capitalization of seven hundred fifty billion dollars ($750,000,000,000) and a 9
58-daily trading volume exceeding ten billion dollars ($10,000,000,000), with 10
59-availability across multiple highly regulated U.S. exchanges to ensure 11
60-institutional-grade liquidity and price discovery. 12
61-(6) Regulatory clarity and legal standing. – The digital asset shall have been 13
62-deemed a commodity or an equivalent non-security by U.S. regulators, such 14
63-as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S. Commodity Futures 15
64-Trading Commission, or other relevant authorities. Assets subject to ongoing 16
65-litigation or regulatory uncertainty regarding their classification as a security 17
66-are disqualified. 18
67-(7) Energy-based consensus and cost of attack. – The digital asset shall be secured 19
68-by a proof-of-work mechanism, ensuring that attacks require significant 20
69-real-world economic resources. The cost of a fifty-one percent (51%) attack 21
70-shall be demonstrably high, ensuring network security is infeasible to 22
71-compromise. 23
72-(8) Censorship resistance. – Transactions shall be permissionless, meaning no 24
73-entity, government, or corporation can prevent users from sending or 25
74-receiving funds. The network shall be operational across multiple 26
75-jurisdictions, with globally distributed nodes and miners, preventing 27
76-geographical or political capture. 28
77-(9) Network resilience and uptime. – The digital asset's network shall have 29
78-maintained ninety-nine and ninety-eight hundredths percent (99.98%) uptime 30
79-or better, functioning independently of third-party financial institutions, 31
80-ensuring accessibility during market crises, bank failures, or geopolitical 32
81-instability. 33
82-(10) Predictable and non-inflationary supply. – The asset shall have a strictly 34
83-limited total supply and a fully transparent, programmatically enforced 35
84-issuance schedule, ensuring long-term scarcity and resistance to arbitrary 36
85-inflationary issuance. 37
86-"§ 66-514. Recognition of digital assets as valid medium of exchange. 38
87-Digital assets are recognized as a valid medium of exchange in North Carolina. A transaction 39
88-shall not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it uses a digital asset. 40
89-"§ 66-515. Privacy and security protections. 41
90-(a) Except as otherwise provided by law, a party to a transaction that uses a digital asset 42
91-shall not require another party to disclose personal financial information. 43
92-(b) The State of North Carolina shall ensure that privacy protections are in place for 44
93-persons using digital assets, in compliance with applicable privacy and data protection laws. 45
94-"§ 66-516. Payment of taxes in digital assets. 46
95-As provided in G.S. 105-241, a person may choose to use a digital asset to pay taxes to the 47
96-Department of Revenue." 48
97-SECTION 2. Article 16B of Chapter 53 of the General Statutes is amended by adding 49
98-a new section to read: 50
99-"§ 53-208.70. New virtual currency customers; daily transaction limit; refund for fraud. 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
100-House Bill 920-First Edition Page 3
101-(a) In this section, the following definitions apply: 1
102-(1) Kiosk. – An electronic terminal acting as a mechanical agent of a licensee. 2
103-(2) "New virtual currency customer" of a licensee. – A person whose first 3
104-transaction with the licensee to transmit virtual currency occurred within 72 4
105-hours. 5
106-(b) A licensee shall impose a daily transaction limit equivalent to two thousand dollars 6
107-($2,000) on a new virtual currency customer for transmissions of virtual currency through a 7
108-kiosk. 8
109-(c) The licensee shall refund the full amount of a transmission of virtual currency to a 9
110-person if all of the following apply: 10
111-(1) At the time of the transmission, the person was a new virtual currency 11
112-customer. 12
113-(2) The person was fraudulently induced to transmit the virtual currency. 13
114-(3) The person reported the fraudulent nature of the transmission to the licensee 14
115-within 14 days of the transmission." 15
116-SECTION 3. G.S. 105-241 reads as rewritten: 16
117-"§ 105-241. Where and how taxes payable; tax period; liens. 17
118-(a) Form of Payment. – Taxes are payable in either the national currency. currency or a 18
119-digital asset that satisfies the requirements of G.S. 66-513. The Secretary shall prescribe where 19
120-taxes are to be paid and whether taxes must be paid in cash, by check, by electronic funds transfer, 20
121-or by another method. 21
122-(a1) Payment by Digital Asset; Reporting Digital Asset Transactions. – If a person chooses 22
123-to pay taxes with a digital asset, the person shall report the U.S. dollar equivalent of the payment 23
124-amount using the digital asset-to-dollar exchange rate at the time of payment. Additionally, if a 24
125-person reports a transaction using a digital asset, the person shall include the U.S. dollar 25
126-equivalent of the amount of the transaction using the digital asset-to-dollar exchange rate at the 26
127-time the transaction occurred. The Department of Revenue shall maintain on its website digital 27
128-asset-to-dollar exchange rates and shall update these rates daily. This subsection applies only to 28
129-digital assets that satisfy the requirements of G.S. 66-513. 29
130-…." 30
131-SECTION 4. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or 31
132-circumstance is held invalid, then the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications 32
133-of the act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application and, to that end, 33
134-the provisions of this act shall be severable. 34
135-SECTION 5. G.S. 66-516, as enacted by Section 1 of this act, and Section 3 of this 35
136-act become effective January 1, 2026. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law. 36
46+security spanning at least 10 years, without any successful protocol-level 34
47+hacks or rollbacks. Transactions shall be immutable once confirmed, 35
48+preventing centralized actors from altering the ledger history. 36
49+H.B. 920
50+Apr 10, 2025
51+HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
52+Page 2 DRH40488-MU-20
53+(4) Market longevity and free market endurance. – The digital asset shall have 1
54+operated continuously in an open, permissionless market for at least 10 years, 2
55+without requiring external intervention or state support to maintain viability, 3
56+and shall have survived regulatory scrutiny without being classified as a 4
57+security. 5
58+(5) Liquidity and market depth. – The digital asset shall have a minimum market 6
59+capitalization of seven hundred fifty billion dollars ($750,000,000,000) and a 7
60+daily trading volume exceeding ten billion dollars ($10,000,000,000), with 8
61+availability across multiple highly regulated U.S. exchanges to ensure 9
62+institutional-grade liquidity and price discovery. 10
63+(6) Regulatory clarity and legal standing. – The digital asset shall have been 11
64+deemed a commodity or an equivalent non-security by U.S. regulators, such 12
65+as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S. Commodity Futures 13
66+Trading Commission, or other relevant authorities. Assets subject to ongoing 14
67+litigation or regulatory uncertainty regarding their classification as a security 15
68+are disqualified. 16
69+(7) Energy-based consensus and cost of attack. – The digital asset shall be secured 17
70+by a proof-of-work mechanism, ensuring that attacks require significant 18
71+real-world economic resources. The cost of a fifty-one percent (51%) attack 19
72+shall be demonstrably high, ensuring network security is infeasible to 20
73+compromise. 21
74+(8) Censorship resistance. – Transactions shall be permissionless, meaning no 22
75+entity, government, or corporation can prevent users from sending or 23
76+receiving funds. The network shall be operational across multiple 24
77+jurisdictions, with globally distributed nodes and miners, preventing 25
78+geographical or political capture. 26
79+(9) Network resilience and uptime. – The digital asset's network shall have 27
80+maintained ninety-nine and ninety-eight hundredths percent (99.98%) uptime 28
81+or better, functioning independently of third-party financial institutions, 29
82+ensuring accessibility during market crises, bank failures, or geopolitical 30
83+instability. 31
84+(10) Predictable and non-inflationary supply. – The asset shall have a strictly 32
85+limited total supply and a fully transparent, programmatically enforced 33
86+issuance schedule, ensuring long-term scarcity and resistance to arbitrary 34
87+inflationary issuance. 35
88+"§ 66-514. Recognition of digital assets as valid medium of exchange. 36
89+Digital assets are recognized as a valid medium of exchange in North Carolina. A transaction 37
90+shall not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it uses a digital asset. 38
91+"§ 66-515. Privacy and security protections. 39
92+(a) Except as otherwise provided by law, a party to a transaction that uses a digital asset 40
93+shall not require another party to disclose personal financial information. 41
94+(b) The State of North Carolina shall ensure that privacy protections are in place for 42
95+persons using digital assets, in compliance with applicable privacy and data protection laws. 43
96+"§ 66-516. Payment of taxes in digital assets. 44
97+As provided in G.S. 105-241, a person may choose to use a digital asset to pay taxes to the 45
98+Department of Revenue." 46
99+SECTION 2. Article 16B of Chapter 53 of the General Statutes is amended by adding 47
100+a new section to read: 48
101+"§ 53-208.70. New virtual currency customers; daily transaction limit; refund for fraud. 49
102+(a) In this section, the following definitions apply: 50
103+(1) Kiosk. – An electronic terminal acting as a mechanical agent of a licensee. 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
104+DRH40488-MU-20 Page 3
105+(2) "New virtual currency customer" of a licensee. – A person whose first 1
106+transaction with the licensee to transmit virtual currency occurred within 72 2
107+hours. 3
108+(b) A licensee shall impose a daily transaction limit equivalent to two thousand dollars 4
109+($2,000) on a new virtual currency customer for transmissions of virtual currency through a 5
110+kiosk. 6
111+(c) The licensee shall refund the full amount of a transmission of virtual currency to a 7
112+person if all of the following apply: 8
113+(1) At the time of the transmission, the person was a new virtual currency 9
114+customer. 10
115+(2) The person was fraudulently induced to transmit the virtual currency. 11
116+(3) The person reported the fraudulent nature of the transmission to the licensee 12
117+within 14 days of the transmission." 13
118+SECTION 3. G.S. 105-241 reads as rewritten: 14
119+"§ 105-241. Where and how taxes payable; tax period; liens. 15
120+(a) Form of Payment. – Taxes are payable in either the national currency. currency or a 16
121+digital asset that satisfies the requirements of G.S. 66-513. The Secretary shall prescribe where 17
122+taxes are to be paid and whether taxes must be paid in cash, by check, by electronic funds transfer, 18
123+or by another method. 19
124+(a1) Payment by Digital Asset; Reporting Digital Asset Transactions. – If a person chooses 20
125+to pay taxes with a digital asset, the person shall report the U.S. dollar equivalent of the payment 21
126+amount using the digital asset-to-dollar exchange rate at the time of payment. Additionally, if a 22
127+person reports a transaction using a digital asset, the person shall include the U.S. dollar 23
128+equivalent of the amount of the transaction using the digital asset-to-dollar exchange rate at the 24
129+time the transaction occurred. The Department of Revenue shall maintain on its website digital 25
130+asset-to-dollar exchange rates and shall update these rates daily. This subsection applies only to 26
131+digital assets that satisfy the requirements of G.S. 66-513. 27
132+…." 28
133+SECTION 4. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or 29
134+circumstance is held invalid, then the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications 30
135+of the act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application and, to that end, 31
136+the provisions of this act shall be severable. 32
137+SECTION 5. G.S. 66-516, as enacted by Section 1 of this act, and Section 3 of this 33
138+act become effective January 1, 2026. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law. 34