New Hampshire has become the first state in the US to enact a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve law after Governor Kelly Ayotte signed the House Bill (HB) 302. This concludes the process that started in January when Rep Keith Ammon proposed the Bill.
With the move, the state treasurer now has the authority to invest 5% of its portfolio into BTC and any other digital assets with a market cap of over $500 billion. Only Bitcoin currently meets this requirement.
Ayotte herself announced the development on X (formerly Twitter), noting that the Law allows the state to invest in crypto and precious metals. The Law will now take effect in 60 days.
She said:
“New Hampshire is once again First in the Nation! 🎉 Just signed a new law allowing our state to invest in cryptocurrency and precious metals.”
Unsurprisingly, several others have celebrated the milestone. Ammon captioned the announcement “first,” while New Hampshire House Republicans posted:
“The Live Free or Die state is leading the way in forging the future of commerce and digital assets.”
Meanwhile, many in the crypto community believe this move will set the ball rolling for other states to adopt Bitcoin as a reserve asset and allow investment in the crypto.
According to the co-founder of Satoshi Act Fund, Dennis Porter, this is history in the making. Satoshi Act Fund is the advocacy group that has been pushing for states in the US to enact crypto reserve laws, and most of the proposed state legislation on the issue is modeled after its proposal.
New Hampshire decision a positive development in a rough week for pro-crypto legislative efforts
The timing of the Law could not be more perfect as it coincides with recent disappointments and uncertainties for pro-crypto legislative efforts. Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed a similar bill to create a digital assets stockpile on May 2, while the Florida legislature also withdrew two crypto reserve bills from consideration.
There are uncertainties at the Federal level over whether Congress will pass crypto-related legislation. The Stablecoin Bill is currently facing pushback from Democrat senators, while some House Democrats today walked out of a Joint hearing on crypto regulations today, citing a conflict of interest in President Trump’s affiliation with the crypto industry.
With Congress seemingly divided on regulating Stablecoins, there are concerns that failure could cause the industry to lose its bullish momentum. Interestingly, there is also a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act bill co-sponsored by Senator Cynthia Lummis under consideration in Congress,
The Boosting Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide (BITCOIN) Act, which has proposed that the US make Bitcoin a reserve asset and hold up to 1 million in BTC, is currently undergoing review in the Senate Banking Committee.
However, the fact that Congress members cannot agree on regulating stablecoin, a tool many believe is beneficial to the US national interest and helps spread the US Dollar influence, makes the chances of a national Bitcoin reserve slimmer.
More states in the US are working on Bitcoin Reserve laws
Meanwhile, other states in the US are also working on a law that will allow SBR, with Texas and North Carolina already having one chamber that has passed the Bill. This makes these two the most likely to see further progress in the effort.
However, Arizona still has a Bitcoin reserve bill, SB1373, that has been finalized by the legislature but is yet to be sent to the governor for signature. Bitcoin Laws noted that the SB1373 could still stand a chance because it does not involve the state retirement funds like the SB1025 that was vetoed.
The news of the law has not had much impact on Bitcoin as the flagship asset has been up only 0.5% in the last 24 hours and remains in the $94,000 to $95,000 range.
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