Overview
- The New Hampshire Executive Council voted 3-2 on Wednesday to reject the proposed $100 million Bitcoin-backed bond, stopping the issuance at the final government approval step.
- State officials and the Business Finance Authority pitched the deal as a private conduit that would keep taxpayers off the hook by linking private lenders to a private borrower secured by Bitcoin collateral.
- Credit reviewers gave the structure a provisional Ba2 rating from Moody’s, even though the plan relied on heavy overcollateralization (about 160%) and automatic liquidation triggers if collateral fell toward roughly 130% of the bond principal.
- Private partners named in the plan included Wave Digital Assets, Rosemawr Management, BitGo as custodian, Jefferies as placement agent, and Orrick as legal adviser, with loans tied to the NH CleanSpark Borrower Trust 2026-1.
- BFA officials said they may supply more information or return with revisions, but councilors’ concern about lending state-linked legitimacy to a volatile asset class shows political and reputational approval remains the key barrier to crypto-backed public finance.