A New Hampshire House committee has overwhelmingly approved a bill that could pave the way for a state bitcoin reserve.
House Bill 302 passed the Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee in a 16-1 vote on March 5, setting it up for a full House floor vote.
If enacted, the bill would grant New Hampshire’s treasurer the discretion to allocate up to 5% of funds from the general fund, revenue stabilization fund, or other legislatively authorized reserves into eligible assets.
New Hampshire Bitcoin Reserve Bill Sets $500B Market Cap Requirement
While the bill does not explicitly name Bitcoin, it restricts investments to digital assets with an average market capitalization of at least $500 billion over the past year—making Bitcoin the sole qualifying asset at present.
The legislation also mandates that any digital asset holdings must be secured by a qualified custodian or structured as an exchange-traded product.
Additionally, the bill allows investments in precious metals, including gold, silver, and platinum.
House Bill 302 was introduced on Jan. 10 by Republican Representative Keith Ammon, with Democratic lawmakers Chris McAleer and Carry Spier joining as co-sponsors.
During the March 5 committee session, Ammon revealed that the bill had been amended to exclude stablecoins and staking options.
He also noted that State Treasurer Monica Mezzapelle has shown interest in utilizing the investment framework outlined in the bill if it becomes law.
Initially, the proposal suggested a 10% allocation limit for such investments, but lawmakers reduced it to 5% before advancing the measure.
New Hampshire is among several states considering Bitcoin-related legislation.
North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Texas are also awaiting final House votes, while similar bills in Utah and Arizona have already cleared that hurdle.
These state-level initiatives come amid broader national discussions on cryptocurrency policy.
On March 2, former U.S. President Donald Trump proposed a Crypto Strategic Reserve, which would include Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and Cardano.
However, Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan suggested that the reserve would likely consist almost entirely of Bitcoin.
El Salvador Continues to Buy the Dip
Earlier this week, El Salvador expanded its Bitcoin holdings once again, purchasing five additional BTC amid a market dip that saw the asset fall to $83,000.
The acquisition, worth approximately $415,000, brings the country’s total Bitcoin reserves to 6,100 BTC, currently valued at around $510 million.
While El Salvador continues acquiring BTC, some other countries have taken the opposite stance.
For one, Swiss National Bank (SNB) President Martin Schlegel has dismissed the idea of adding Bitcoin to Switzerland’s reserve assets, citing concerns over stability, liquidity, and security risks.
In a March 1 interview with Swiss media outlet Tamedia, Schlegel argued that Bitcoin’s volatility makes it an unsuitable reserve asset for the country’s central bank.
It is worth noting that several U.S. states, including Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Texas, have also introduced bills that could enable them to hold Bitcoin and other cryptos as reserve assets.
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