New Hampshire became the first U.S. state to adopt legislation allowing public treasury investment in cryptocurrencies, after Governor Kelly Aiyot signed House Bill 302 on May 6.
Aiyot stated via platform X saying:
New Hampshire is the first state in the country again
Adding that the new law allows the state to invest in cryptocurrencies and precious metals.
The law is set to take effect within 60 days, officially allowing the state to start accumulating Bitcoin within its reserves.
This development coincides with the rise in the price of Bitcoin from $94,000 to $97,500, although this is mainly driven by developments related to the trade war between the United States and China.
The law stipulates the possibility of allocating up to 5% of the state's total reserves for investment in digital assets with a market value exceeding $500 billion.
And although this condition currently makes Bitcoin eligible, other currencies like Ethereum, which has a market value of about $220 billion, do not fall under this classification at this time.
Strict custody procedures are required, including the use of multi-signature wallets under state supervision, or qualified custodians, or regulated investment instruments like exchange-traded products.
This approach aims to balance diversifying the state's reserves while maintaining financial governance and transparency.
Republican lawmakers in the state welcomed this move, affirming via platform X that New Hampshire, known for its motto 'Live Free or Die', continues to lead in financial innovation.
The bill was prepared according to the framework of the 'Satoshi Action' organization, which is a pro-Bitcoin entity that has supported six laws related to digital assets, and more than twenty similar bills at the state level across the United States.
In contrast, similar initiatives have failed in other states, as bills 487 and 550 in Florida were recently withdrawn from circulation, after it was supposed to allow investment of up to 10% of state funds in Bitcoin.
The governor of Arizona also vetoed bill HB 1025, considering digital assets to be untested investments.
While another bill is still under consideration in Arizona (HB 1371), its chances of passing seem limited given the governor's opposition to digital assets at this stage
