North Carolina House Approves Legislation to Ban CBDC Payments to State

North Carolina's House of Representatives has given its unanimous approval to House Bill 690, which bans the use of CBDCs for making payments to the state, and bars any state involvement in Federal Reserve branch trials of CBDCs. The bill is now set to be passed by the state Senate with similar expectations of approval.

In the most recent version of the bill, the word "cryptocurrency" has been substituted with "central bank digital currency." The latter is explained as a digital currency, medium of exchange, or monetary unit of account that is released by the U.S. Federal Reserve System or a federal agency.

Lawmakers initially introduced the bill with language that could have unintentionally included Bitcoin, prompting the creation of the new version. The revised bill also forbids state agencies and the General Court of Justice from receiving payments made via CBDCs and from engaging in CBDC testing carried out by any Federal Reserve branch.

With a vote of 118-0, the bill garnered complete support from the North Carolina House of Representatives. The next step is for the bill to be passed by the state Senate, and if it is approved, it will require the governor's signature to become law.