- New Hampshire approved the first-ever $100M Bitcoin-backed municipal bond in the U.S., using BTC as collateral for public infrastructure funding.
- The bond relies on a 160% BTC collateral structure, enabled by the state’s new Strategic Bitcoin Reserve law passed earlier in 2025.
- The move positions New Hampshire as a leader in merging digital assets with traditional debt markets, potentially paving the way for similar state-level crypto finance models.
New Hampshire just pulled off something pretty wild for a U.S. state—approving a $100 million municipal bond that’s fully backed by Bitcoin. The decision came through the state’s Business Finance Authority on November 19, marking the first time a state-level public finance deal in the U.S. has leaned on BTC as its main collateral. It’s a big shift, almost like watching the edges of traditional finance blur into the digital world a bit faster than anyone expected.
How the Bond Structure Works
This bond was structured by Wave Digital Assets and Rosemawr Management, both of which have been pushing for that crossover between institutional finance and crypto. The setup basically puts Bitcoin at the center of the funding model, supporting infrastructure projects—roads, utilities, public development—without requiring institutions to buy BTC directly. The borrower has to post collateral equal to about 160% of the bond’s value, and if things slip down to 130%, liquidation kicks in. It’s purposely built to keep downside risk in check, even if BTC gets a little shaky, which let’s be real, it tends to do from time to time.
A Legal Pathway Already in Motion
A big reason this bond exists at all is because the foundations were laid earlier in 2025, when Governor Kelly Ayotte signed HB 302 into law. That bill, also known as the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve law, lets New Hampshire allocate up to 5% of its treasury into Bitcoin and other massive-cap digital assets. With a requirement that assets have at least a $500 billion market cap, it basically funnels the state toward the top of the crypto food chain. Everything runs through BitGo for custody, which keeps the regulatory and security doors properly locked, at least on paper. The law even allows investment through things like BTC ETFs, giving the state room to experiment without diving off a cliff.
What It Means for the Economy—and for Bitcoin
The BTC reserve and this new bond aren’t just random experiments; together they’re meant to help fund New Hampshire’s core public needs. At the same time, the state is testing whether digital assets can play a legit role in the $140 trillion global debt market. If it works, it’s not crazy to imagine other states eyeing their own versions of BTC-backed public financing. On the market side of things, BTC nudged up just a bit—around 0.24% in the last 24 hours—hovering above $92,000. Prices moved, volumes dropped, open interest slid a bit too, which kind of shows that traders were watching but not rushing in all at once.
