New Hampshire’s House of Representatives has passed its Bitcoin reserve bill, House Bill 302, with lawmakers voting 192-179 in favor of the bill following a 16-1 vote by the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Secretary in March. New Hampshire becomes the fourth state to pass such legislation, joining Texas, Arizona, and Oklahoma. New Hampshire Approves Bitcoin Reserve Bill The bill will now head to the Senate for discussions before potentially returning to Governor Kelly Ayotte’s desk for approval. If passed, the bill would allow the state’s treasury to invest 10% of New Hampshire’s general fund, revenue stabilization fund, or any other legislatively approved fund towards certain digital assets and precious metals, including Gold, silver, and platinum. The bill also defines how the assets must be held. New Hampshire Representative and bill proposer Keith Ammon stated, “We’re tied to the U.S. dollar, whether we like it or not, but this would allow us to have the state invest a small portion into this uncorrelated, new asset class.” However, the bill places stringent requirements for an asset to be included in the fund, specifying that only assets and cryptocurrencies with a market capitalization of over $500 billion would be eligible for inclusion, a criteria currently met only by Bitcoin (BTC). New Hampshire’s treasury had around $3.6 billion in funds as of its most recent annual report. This would allow the state to buy $181 million worth of precious metals or BTC. If spent exclusively on BTC, New Hampshire could purchase around 2,269 BTC at current prices. The bill also states that the purchased assets must be held by a qualified custodian, by the treasurer, with a secure custody solution, or via an exchange-traded product (ETF) from a registered investment company. An Unnecessary Bill The bill faced opposition from some quarters of the house, with Democrat Representative Terry Spahr arguing the bill was not needed and could undermine the future security of the state’s digital asset stockpile. “Unbeknownst to the committee and to the sponsor the treasurer testified that they already have that authority. Cryptocurrency is “constantly shifting and changing, and it’s sort of dangerous to be kind of locked into certain types of security measures, and I think that bill does this.” However, Republican Representative Jordan Ulery countered Spahr, stating that the bill was necessary as it could “create the potential for a large amount of money being earned by the state in these investments.” New Hampshire has two other blockchain-related bills: HB310, which covers stablecoins and real-world asset tokenization, and HB639, which deals with blockchain regulation and dispute resolution. Florida House Committee Passes Bitcoin Reserve Bill Meanwhile, Florida’s House Insurance and Banking Committee unanimously passed the state’s Bitcoin reserve bill, HB487. The bill must now clear three committees before it reaches the House. The bill would allow Florida’s Chief Financial Officer and the State Board of Administration to invest up to 10% of some state funds, including the General Revenue Fund and the Budget Stabilization Fund into BTC. The bill’s sponsor, Republican Representative Webster Barnaby claimed it would “put Florida on the leading edge of this new technology.” The bill allows the state’s financial chief to invest in digital assets through qualified custodians or ETFs. It also details security and custody requirements. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
