On Wednesday, the North Carolina House of Representatives is on track to vote on whether money from the state's public funds could be allocated to buying Bitcoin, a local regional newspaper reports.
This also applies to North Carolina's pension fund, which provides retirement benefits for police officers, teachers, firefighters, and so on. It has a total of $129 billion in assets. The fund has more than a million members, including current employees and retirees.
As of now, the fund's portfolio is mainly comprised of public equity and investment-grade fixed income. It also holds real estate as well as some non-traditional alternative investments such as private equity.
The bill that is facing the vote today will make it possible to allocate up to 5% of the state's funds to the leading cryptocurrency. Bitcoin is the only digital asset that would qualify as an investment since its market cap exceeds the $750 billion mark.
The bill has been watered down compared to the original bill, which stipulated a maximum 10% allocation.
The new version bill also requires the coins to be stored with the help of a security custody solution instead of being solely controlled by a state treasurer.
Update: The bill has already passed the North Carolina House of Representatives with a simple majority. A total of 71 lawmakers voted in favor while 44 voted against. The bill will now be able to proceed to the next stage of the legislative process.
Vladislav Sopov
Dan Burgin