First Bitcoin-Backed Municipal Bond Launches In New Hampshire

New Hampshire has authorized the first US municipal security explicitly backed by Bitcoin, approving a $100 million “conduit” bond that uses over-collateralized BTC rather than tax revenues or project cash flows as its primary backstop. The decision by the state’s Business Finance Authority (BFA) positions New Hampshire as an early test bed for integrating digital assets into the roughly $140 trillion global bond market.

New Hampshire Continues To Lead US States Into Bitcoin Adoption

Governor Kelly Ayotte framed the move as a way to attract capital while insulating residents from balance-sheet risk, saying she is “proud that New Hampshire is once again first in the nation to embrace new technologies with this historic Bitcoin-backed bond,” and calling it “an innovative way to bring more investment opportunities to our state and position us as a leader in digital finance without risking state funds or taxpayer dollars.”

The bond follows a standard conduit structure: the BFA authorizes the issuance, but the credit risk rests with the private borrower, not the state’s general fund. What is novel is the collateral package. The borrower must post about 160 percent of the bond’s notional value in Bitcoin, held by digital asset custodian BitGo. If BTC’s price falls and the collateralization ratio approaches roughly 130 percent, automatic liquidation of part of the Bitcoin stack is triggered to protect bondholders and preserve principal. The BFA oversees the framework but does not guarantee repayment.

The structure was designed by Wave Digital Assets and municipal specialist Rosemawr Management, with BitGo as custodian and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe as legal counsel. Wave co-founder Les Borsai described the transaction as “the opening of a new debt market,” arguing that it shows how “public and private sectors can collaborate to responsibly unlock the value of digital assets.” Orrick partner Orion Mountainspring called it “the first municipal security backed by cryptocurrency” and a potential “game-changer for digital currency and municipal finance.”

Fees and any Bitcoin appreciation associated with the transaction will flow into a dedicated Bitcoin Economic Development Fund, intended to support innovation and business growth in the state, rather than the general budget. The bond also dovetails with New Hampshire’s recently authorized Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, which allows the state treasury to allocate up to 5 percent of funds into highly capitalized digital assets, in practice making Bitcoin the only viable candidate under today’s market conditions.

Republican representative Keith Ammon, the driving force behind much of the state’s Bitcoin legislation, has presented the framework as a controlled way to test BTC as high-grade collateral for public finance without exposing taxpayers to direct losses. Because the bond is not a general-obligation security and relies on over-collateralization plus pre-defined liquidation thresholds, officials argue that Bitcoin’s volatility is ring-fenced within the structure.

Whether the model scales beyond this initial authorization will depend on investor demand, pricing and ratings treatment once an actual borrower brings a deal to market. For now, New Hampshire has moved the concept of Bitcoin-backed public debt from theory into the machinery of US municipal finance, creating a live template other states and issuers can study or choose to emulate.

At press time, BTC traded at $91,401.