New Hampshire nixes $100M Bitcoin-backed bond

New Hampshire’s Executive Council voted 3-2 on July 8 to reject a proposed $100 million Bitcoin-backed municipal bond, preventing the plan from advancing to a public approval stage.

Wave Digital Assets, Rosemawr Management and the New Hampshire Business Finance Authority developed the proposal. It would have used Bitcoin pledged as collateral for up to $100 million in taxable revenue bonds. The BFA board gave preliminary approval in November, but the issuance required final sign-off from the governor and the five-member Executive Council.

A motion to table the proposal failed to receive a second, and councilors then voted against the issuance 3-2. Governor Kelly Ayotte had supported the structure and the BFA had sought council approval to move the deal into the municipal market.

Backers maintained the bond was structured to keep taxpayer funds and state guarantees separate from the Bitcoin collateral. BFA Executive Director James Key-Wallace said the design would not expose the state to repayment risk.

Orrick served as bond counsel and BitGo Trust Company was named custodian for the Bitcoin collateral. Moody’s assigned a provisional Ba2 rating to up to $100 million of taxable revenue bonds tied to the plan, which was structured around a loan to NH CleanSpark Borrower Trust 2026-1 with Bitcoin pledged as security.

Opponents on the Executive Council raised concerns about attaching state-linked legitimacy to a bond backed by a volatile digital asset and were not persuaded by assurances about taxpayer protections.

With the council vote, the version presented on July 8 is halted. The BFA or project sponsors may revise the structure and seek approval again, but no further approvals were recorded that day.