In its final stage of approval, New Hampshire’s Executive Council narrowly voted 3–2 to reject the proposed bond initiative.
In a last-minute reversal, the state abandoned what would have been a groundbreaking move — issuing the first state-backed, rated bond linked to Bitcoin — effectively canceling the project.
Although Moody’s had recently assigned the bond a Ba2 rating, the Executive Council, responsible for approving major financial actions, ultimately blocked it, with a slim majority citing concerns about potential risks to the state’s financial standing.
The bond was planned to be issued through the state’s Business Finance Authority, supporting a private-sector offering of up to $100 million tied to Bitcoin mining and data center company CleanSpark. The council’s vote represented the final approval step.
Keith Ammon, a prominent crypto advocate and majority floor leader in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, criticized the decision on X, calling it “short-sighted” and urging officials to reconsider the proposal after reviewing all relevant information.
Ammon also pointed to election-year pressures as a possible factor, noting that a single vote determined the outcome. He emphasized that supporters of the initiative are not backing down.
New Hampshire has been a leader among U.S. states in adopting crypto-related policies, including becoming the first to establish a crypto reserve, ahead of ongoing federal efforts.
