New Hampshire Makes History—First State to Put Bitcoin on Its Balance Sheet

Move over, gold bars—New Hampshire just rewrote the treasury playbook. The Granite State becomes the first in the U.S. to allocate Bitcoin to its official reserves, a middle finger to legacy finance’s ’play it safe’ rulebook.

Why it matters: While Wall Street hedgies argue about ’store of value,’ a state government just YOLO’d into crypto sovereignty. Treasury officials claim it’s a ’hedge against dollar debasement’—or maybe they just noticed their 0.01% yield bonds weren’t paying for squat.

Behind the move: New Hampshire’s libertarian streak runs deep. No income tax, no sales tax—and now, no fear of orange coin volatility. The allocation size remains undisclosed (probably still less than a Senator’s pocket change).

The kicker: If this triggers a domino effect among crypto-curious states, the Fed might need to mine some Bitcoin themselves—just to keep up.

In a major first for the United States, New Hampshire has passed a new law allowing the state to hold Bitcoin as part of its financial reserves. The bill, known as HB 302, was signed into law on May 6, 2025, by the state’s Governor. This makes New Hampshire the first state in the nation to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Fund.

The law gives the state’s Treasurer the power to buy Bitcoin and other major digital assets directly or through a regulated investment product like an exchange-traded product (ETP). However, there’s a limit — the state can only hold up to 5% of its total funds in Bitcoin to balance risk.

NEW: New Hampshire becomes the first U.S. state to pass a strategic $BTC reserve into law, authorizing the treasurer to purchase the world’s largest digital asset directly or through an ETP. https://t.co/pPZsIqaoIv

To ensure safety, the law requires all digital assets to be stored under strict U.S.-regulated custody, either in state-controlled wallets or with approved custodians. The new policy will officially take effect 60 days after its signing.

The bill was inspired by a model created by the nonprofit group Satoshi Action, which works to educate lawmakers about Bitcoin and digital assets. Dennis Porter, the group’s CEO, said this is more than just a bill — it’s the start of a movement. “New Hampshire didn’t just pass a bill; it sparked a movement,” Porter said.

Several important figures helped make this happen, including Rep. Keith Ammon, an early Bitcoin supporter, Majority Leader Jason Osborne, and the New Hampshire Blockchain Council.

This landmark decision could open the door for other U.S. states to follow New Hampshire’s lead as interest in Bitcoin-backed financial reserves grows nationwide.