The state of New Hampshire has approved the first municipal debt instrument in the United States to be backed by Bitcoin (BTC).
Industry observers believe the move could open the door for digital assets to enter the global debt market, which is valued at about $140 trillion.
$100 Million Bitcoin-Backed Financing
According to journalist Eleanor Terret, the state’s Business Finance Authority (BFA) greenlighted a $100 million BTC-secured bond on Monday. The initiative allows companies to borrow money using over-collateralized BTC held by a private custodian. The security is also structured as a conduit, meaning it does not rely on taxpayer money or carry any state financial guarantees.
Designed by Wave Digital Assets and Rosemawr Management, the offering requires borrowers to post roughly 160% of its value in the flagship cryptocurrency as collateral. A safeguard has also been put in place to protect investors should the price fall below 130%.
This allows participants to unlock capital without selling their cryptocurrency or creating a taxable event. Meanwhile, the transaction fees and earnings will be used to support the area’s Bitcoin Economic Development Fund.
The move comes just months after New Hampshire became the first state to allow its treasury to invest up to 5% of public funds in digital assets. Governor Kelly Ayotte, who signed the bill into law in May, said, “I am proud that New Hampshire is once again first in the nation to embrace new technologies with this historic Bitcoin-backed bond.”
Les Borsai, co-founder of Wave, said that their goal was to bridge traditional fixed income with digital assets in a way that is fully institutional, fully compliant, and globally scalable. Furthermore, Republican legislator Keith Ammon, who introduced the Granite State’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve bill, described the initiative as a test for using the asset as high-quality collateral in government finance.
Bitcoin Bond Could Tap $140 Trillion Debt Market
The approval of this crypto-backed note has wider implications for the global debt market, valued at roughly $140 trillion, with the U.S. making up around $58.2 trillion of this.
Digital asset-backed lending has existed in private markets for years, but never in U.S. municipal finance. Les Borsai explained that the development shows how public and private sectors can responsibly unlock the value of cryptocurrencies.
Currently, many crypto reserves sit idle, but this structure shows how they can generate yield, support loans, and fund economic projects.
By creating a regulated framework for using digital reserves as collateral, New Hampshire’s model could provide a blueprint for other regions and further encourage institutional investors to explore these financing instruments.