Former North Carolina Lt. Gov. Dan Forest is launching a coalition designed to give blockchain, artificial intelligence, finance and energy companies a more unified voice in Raleigh and Washington.
The group, called North Carolina Blockchain + AI Initiative, builds on work started in 2019 by Forest, who helped create a state blockchain task force. Forest is now expanding the mission to include artificial intelligence as regulators shape rules around emerging technologies.
“North Carolina has the infrastructure, the talent, and now the unified industry voice to become a national leader in blockchain and AI,” Forest said in a statement.
It comes as North Carolina’s evolving technology sector comes under scrutiny over infrastructure. Some communities have imposed temporary moratoriums on new data centers to study the impact on electricity usage, water resources, and the environment, raising questions about how to balance innovation with local concerns.
The group’s priorities include supporting federal stablecoin legislation, reforming data center permitting and forming a bipartisan legislative working group to produce a comprehensive blockchain and AI policy framework.
Dan Spuller, executive vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based Blockchain Association, will be chairman of the board, bringing federal policy experience to strengthen the coalition’s influence. The board also includes intellectual property lawyer Lyle Gravatt; financial technology entrepreneur Eric Porper, national security and financial crimes specialist John Bridge; and media and technology entrepreneur Alej Navia. Patrick Riley, a former assistant to Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, coordinates the coalition’s day-to-day work.
