New Hampshire Has Officially Passed Legislation Authorizing the State Treasurer to Allocate Funds into Bitcoin

On May 6th, Governor Kelly Ayotte shared on social media that the state is now permitted to “invest in cryptocurrency and precious metals”

Governor Kelly Ayotte announced that New Hampshire has officially passed legislation authorizing the state treasurer to allocate funds into Bitcoin.

In a recent post on her personal social media account on Friday, May 6th, Governor Ayotte shared a snapshot of a new law signed by her, which will permit the state to “invest in cryptocurrency and precious metals.” This follows the approval of House Bill 302 by both chambers of the legislature.

“New Hampshire is once again First in the Nation! Just signed a new law allowing our state to invest in cryptocurrency and precious metals,” Governor Ayotte wrote.

The bill, which was originally introduced in January by state Representative Mark Porter, restricts investments to cryptocurrencies with market caps over $500 billion. This stipulation effectively excludes smaller tokens, such as those used by startups, and memecoins, from the scope of the investment program.

With this development, New Hampshire becomes the first in a series of several U.S. states to introduce and pass laws permitting their treasurers to invest in Bitcoin. This move has also sparked broader discussions about the possibility of the federal government investing in cryptocurrencies.

Earlier this year, several U.S. states began considering bills to allocate portions of their treasury reserves into cryptocurrencies. Among these efforts, Arizona House Bill 2408, which would have authorized the state treasurer to invest up to 1% of the state treasury’s funds into Bitcoin, was passed by the state’s House in April. However, Governor Katie Hobbs proceeded to block the bill with a veto on Tuesday, May 2nd.