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North Dakota committee hears bill to let state invest in precious metals and large-cap digital assets
Summary
At a hearing, Representative Nathan Toman and industry witnesses urged allowing limited state investments in physical precious metals and select digital assets as an inflation hedge; state investment officers and bankers expressed concerns about governance, liquidity and operational burdens, especially for the general fund.
Representative Nathan Toman, R‑Mandan, told the Industry, Business and Labor Committee that House Bill 1184 would authorize the state treasury, working with the State Investment Board, to buy physical precious metals and digital assets with market capitalizations above $500,000,000,000, and set a guardrail of roughly a 10% cap on eligible funds.
"This bill is to allow investment into our state treasury into precious metals or digital assets with a market capitalization exceeding $500,000,000,000," Toman said, framing the measure as an optional tool the treasurer and investment board could use to hedge against inflation.
Proponents said modest allocations could have preserved purchasing power during recent inflation. Eric Peterson, policy director of Satoshi Action Fund, told the committee that a small allocation to bitcoin or gold over the past several years would have largely offset declines in purchasing power. "If the state were to buy small amounts of gold or…
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