New Hampshire council votes down $100M Bitcoin bonds

Policymakers in New Hampshire’s executive council voted against a proposal that would have allowed the state to issue $100 million in bonds backed by Bitcoin (BTC).

At a Wednesday hearing, the five-member panel voted 3-2 against the New Hampshire Business Finance Authority’s (BFA) proposed issuance of $100 million in BTC-backed bonds. The proposed investments, which the authority approved in November 2025, already had support from Governor Kelly Ayotte.

“It was an extremely short-sighted decision,” said state representative Keith Ammon in a Thursday X post after the vote. “I can't believe I witnessed it in person. They should gather all relevant facts and information and reconsider their vote at a future meeting.”

Councilors Karen Liot Hill, Dave Wheeler and Janet Stevens voted against the measure, while Joseph Kenney and John Stephen approved it. The crypto investment vehicles, issued by the BFA and with CleanSpark putting up BTC as collateral, would have marked New Hampshire's continued approval of digital asset policies, following its May 2025 crypto reserve law.

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While the BTC-backed bonds had support from many in the crypto industry, some experts warned against the proposal, saying it carried “substantial risk” for New Hampshire residents. Moody’s assigned the Bitcoin bond a provisional Ba2 rating in March.

New Hampshire to join prediction markets fight against CFTC?

With gaming authorities in many US states having already filed lawsuits against prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket over sports betting, some have speculated that New Hampshire could join the legal fight challenging the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) authority. State Senator Tim Lang reportedly planned to introduce legislation restricting prediction markets in New Hampshire in April, but as of Friday, the platforms were still live in the state.

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