House Bill 1029, the North Carolina Digital Asset and Stablecoin Act, creates two new regulatory frameworks in Chapter 53 of the General Statutes: one for digital asset custody, staking, and transaction services offered by state-chartered banks and credit unions, and another for payment stablecoins issued or offered in North Carolina. For digital assets, the bill defines key terms, requires advance notice or approval before institutions provide custody or staking services, mandates written customer agreements and disclosures, imposes 100% reserve requirements, requires annual independent audits, and prohibits rehypothecation. It also authorizes subcustody arrangements under specified conditions and sets out AML, cybersecurity, recordkeeping, and enforcement standards for institutions offering these services.
For stablecoins, the bill establishes a licensing and supervision regime for payment stablecoin issuers, including reserve, redemption, disclosure, capital, liquidity, and compliance requirements. Issuers must maintain eligible reserves equal to 100% of outstanding stablecoins, redeem at par, publish monthly reserve reports, undergo annual examinations, and comply with Bank Secrecy Act, sanctions, and customer identification rules. The bill also addresses foreign issuers, reciprocity for certain out-of-state issuers, and the role of state-chartered banks, credit unions, and trust companies. It gives the Commissioner of Banks and State Banking Commission broad rulemaking, examination, enforcement, and emergency authority, and it expressly exempts compliant stablecoin issuance from State money transmitter licensure.
The bill also amends North Carolina’s unclaimed property laws to treat digital asset accounts as a new category of abandoned property, generally presumed abandoned after five years of inactivity or other specified triggers. It requires holders to report and, when possible, deliver abandoned digital assets in native form to a Treasurer-designated qualified custodian, or liquidate them if necessary. The Treasurer is authorized to stake unclaimed digital assets, with staking rewards accruing to the State, and digital assets must generally be held for three years before sale. Related changes update definitions and reporting rules in Chapter 116B and conform the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act definition in Chapter 36F.
The overall sentiment reflected in the bill text is strongly pro-regulation and pro-industry-development, with a clear emphasis on consumer protection, safety and soundness, and alignment with federal law. The bill appears designed to make North Carolina a permissive but tightly supervised jurisdiction for digital asset and stablecoin activity, while limiting risks through reserve, audit, disclosure, and enforcement requirements. No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate or partisan division in the available context.
The main points of contention likely center on the breadth of authority given to banks and credit unions to handle digital assets, the 100% reserve and audit requirements, the treatment of staking and staking rewards, and the state’s role in regulating stablecoin issuers alongside federal law. Potential concerns also include the Treasurer’s authority to stake abandoned digital assets, the handling of foreign stablecoin issuers, and the compliance burden on institutions seeking to enter the market. The bill’s detailed enforcement powers and criminal penalties for unlicensed or false activity suggest a strong regulatory posture that could draw scrutiny from industry and consumer advocates alike.
The bill would add a new digital asset custody and services article to Chapter 53, a new stablecoin licensing and supervision article to Chapter 53, and multiple conforming amendments to North Carolina’s unclaimed property statutes in Chapter 116B and digital asset access law in Chapter 36F. It would give the Commissioner of Banks, the State Banking Commission, and related regulators new authority over banks, credit unions, trust companies, and stablecoin issuers, while also creating new obligations for holders of abandoned digital assets and for the State Treasurer as custodian of those assets. It would materially expand state oversight of blockchain-related financial activity and establish new statutory standards for reserves, custody, disclosures, audits, AML, cybersecurity, and enforcement.
Based on the bill text alone, the sentiment appears generally favorable toward digital asset adoption, but only within a highly controlled regulatory framework. The legislation is structured to encourage banks, credit unions, and stablecoin issuers to operate in North Carolina while imposing extensive consumer-protection and prudential safeguards. Because no committee discussion or vote history was provided, there is no recorded public debate in the supplied materials to indicate support or opposition from legislators.
Likely areas of contention include whether the bill is too restrictive for innovation, especially given the 100% reserve requirements, mandatory audits, and limits on proprietary trading and rehypothecation, versus whether those safeguards are necessary to protect consumers and the financial system. Another likely issue is the treatment of staking, including default opt-in with disclosure and the risks of slashing or lock-up periods, as well as the Treasurer’s authority to stake abandoned digital assets and keep the rewards for the State. The bill’s interaction with federal stablecoin law, its treatment of foreign issuers, and the scope of the Commissioner’s emergency and enforcement powers are also likely to be debated by industry stakeholders and regulators.