New Hampshire is one step closer to issuing the first Bitcoin-backed municipal bonds in US history. Lawmakers scheduled a public hearing for Wednesday on a $100 million proposal.
The Business Finance Authority approved the bonds back in November 2025. But they still need sign-off from Governor Kelly Ayotte and the state’s five-member executive council. Wednesday’s hearing moves that process forward.
“This is an innovative way to bring more investment opportunities to our state,” Ayotte said. “Without risking state funds or taxpayer dollars.”
Private borrower CleanSpark is putting up the collateral. The state isn’t on the hook if Bitcoin’s price tanks. That’s the whole pitch — public benefit, private risk.
Not everyone’s sold. Marquette finance professor David Krause wrote an analysis calling it a “proof of concept” that highlights how hard it is to fit volatile digital assets into traditional finance structures. Moody’s gave it a Ba2 rating — speculative grade.
New Hampshire’s been moving fast on crypto. It was the first state to pass a strategic Bitcoin reserve law in May 2025, allowing 5% of public funds to go into digital assets over $500 billion market cap.
El Salvador tried something similar with its “Volcano Bonds” back in 2022. $1 billion to fund a Bitcoin City. Never happened. Market downturn killed it.
New Hampshire might pull it off. Or it might end up the same way. Either way, Wednesday’s hearing will tell us a lot about how seriously states are taking Bitcoin as a financial instrument.
