North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed House Bill 289 into law, thereby expanding the state’s Money Transmitters Act to include activities related to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Introduced last year, the bill defines virtual currency as:

“A digital representation of value that can be digitally traded and functions as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, or a store of value but only to the extent defined as stored value under G.S. 53-208.42(19), but does not have legal tender status as recognized by the United States Government”.

In an online post, Jerry Brito, director of non-profit advocacy group Coin Center, last month shared his views on how to improve the North Carolina’s digital currency bill.

“While aspects of SB 680 may provide direction for some players in the space, it falls way short of broad clarity necessary for continued innovation for the entire ecosystem”, he wrote.

However, some believe the bill to be a major step forward for the digital currency ecosystem. Speaking with CoinDesk, Perianne Boring, president of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, said that the bill had made history by providing an alternative, legislative-based model to industry-specific rule-making.

"The fact that this went through the legislative process is a big step forward, the bill also adds more clarity than any other state by a long shot”, he said.