New Hampshire's $100 million bitcoin bond proposal fails to pass final vote

The New Hampshire Executive Council rejected a proposal to issue up to $100 million in taxable conduit revenue bonds collateralized by bitcoin (BTC).

On Wednesday, the council voted 3-2 to reject the proposal, which would have allowed the New Hampshire Business Finance Authority to serve as a conduit issuer for bonds financing a private borrower tied to CleanSpark. 

Under the proposed structure, the bitcoin mining and data center company would have deposited roughly $160 million in bitcoin as collateral — the bonds were to be liquidated and redeemed if the collateral value fell below $140 million. BitGo was designated as custodian for the bitcoin holdings in segregated wallets.

The transaction was structured as "limited-recourse obligations," meaning bondholders would have recourse only to the bitcoin collateral and related proceeds, with no obligation or risk to New Hampshire taxpayers or the state’s general credit.

New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte expressed support for the proposal, saying that it was a historic and innovative way to bring more investment opportunities to the state without risking state funds or taxpayer dollars.

In March, Moody's Investors Service assigned the proposed bonds a Ba2 rating, which is a speculative-grade rating two notches below investment grade. 

"The EC decision yesterday chokes revenue that the Business Finance Authority receives from all future potential conduit bonds, which hurts our economic growth," State Representative Keith Ammon wrote on X. "It was an extremely short-sighted decision."

Ammon urged the council to reconsider their vote in a future meeting after reviewing relevant facts and information.