Select Bitcoin Businesses Exempted from Money Transmitters Act In North Carolina

The North Carolina Office of the Commissioner of Banks (NCCOB) has exempted virtual currency miners and users; non-financial blockchain services; and multi-signature and non-custodial wallet providers from the state's Money Transmitters Act (MTA), CoinDesk reported. The NCCOB is responsible for the chartering and regulation of North Carolina's state banks, trust companies, mortgage companies, as well as registration and licensing of various financial institutions operating in the state. 

“The NC MTA regulates the transmission of virtual currency. It does not regulate the use of virtual currency”, the NCCOB states in the FAQ section.

The agency pointed out that the regulation of virtual currency "exchangers and administrators" depends on their business model.

"An exchanger that sells its own stock of virtual currency is generally not considered a virtual currency transmitter under the NC MTA. In contrast, an exchanger that holds customer funds while arranging a satisfactory buy/sell order with a third party, and transmits virtual currency and fiat currency between buyer and seller, will typically be considered a virtual currency transmitter," the FAQ page reads. “A virtual currency administrator is a person that issues or redeems virtual currency. Although administrators must register with FinCEN and comply with the Bank Secrecy Act, merely acting as an administrator generally does not require a license under the NC MTA.” 

The NCCOB also said that no special license are required for digital currency businesses operating in state, adding that the Office applies the same standards to digital currency transmitters as it does to traditional fiat transmitters.  

Counsel Amy Kim of BuckleySandler, a law firm that worked with Chamber of Digital Commerce, government relations consulting firm Gide and NCCOB on the initiative, said in a statement (quoted by CoinDesk):

"These FAQs are quite remarkable as they define specific activities as falling outside the scope of the regulation, which very well may serve as a template for other state interpretations."