Dear N.C. Legislator,

I humbly request that you vote no on House Bill 289 – the N.C. Anti-Bitcoin Act.

H289 amends North Carolina’s Money Transmitters Act by regulating Bitcoin processors as money transmitters through state statute. North Carolina would be the first state in the U.S. to regulate Bitcoin in statute.

Bitcoin is:

property, not money, as defined by the IRS. For federal tax purposes, Bitcoin transactions are taxed like property transactions. If Bitcoin processors are regulated as money transmitters through this act, then gold dealers and stockbrokers should be as well.

an economic innovation. Bitcoin was introduced only six years ago, but the industry raised at least $264 million in venture capital through Sept. 2014. Rapid industry expansion should be encouraged, not stifled through first-of-its-kind state regulation.

not held in banks at any point in time. Rep. Steve Ross, a banker by trade and sponsor of the bill, introduced H289 on behalf of the N.C. Commissioner of Banks. Bitcoin represents an efficient, scalable alterative to the financial status quo.

only one of hundreds of different cryptocurrencies. H289 would regulate hundreds of cryptocurrencies.

With the Bitcoin industry steadily adding jobs, H289 was debated on the House floor for only a minute and a half (starts at 13:30). If H289 is signed into law, those jobs will not be added in North Carolina.

A recently announced $400 million budget surplus and the repayment of $2.75 billion in debt to the federal government proved the power of pro-jobs legislation in North Carolina.

Please vote no on this anti-jobs bill that adds burdensome regulation to a burgeoning industry.

Respectfully,