New Hampshire’s House and Florida’s House Insurance and Banking Committee have both moved forward on legislation that would empower their states to build Bitcoin reserves.
In New Hampshire, the House approved its Bitcoin reserve measure, HB302, by a 192-179 vote on April 10, sending the bill to the Senate. With this approval, New Hampshire becomes the fourth state—joining Arizona, Texas, and Oklahoma—to have a Bitcoin reserve bill pass one chamber of its legislature.
Should HB302 pass in the Senate and receive Governor Kelly Ayotte’s signature, it will allow the state treasurer to invest up to 10% of the general fund, along with any other designated funds, in precious metals and selected digital assets. The legislation also outlines the protocol for safekeeping these assets.
A key stipulation in the bill is that only cryptocurrencies with a market capitalization exceeding $500 billion are eligible for investment – a benchmark that, at present, only Bitcoin meets.
Source: New Hampshire House of Representatives
During the debate preceding the vote, Democrat Representative Terry Spahr expressed concerns that the bill was redundant and might compromise the security of the state’s digital asset reserves. “Unbeknownst to the committee and to the sponsor […] the treasurer testified that they already have that authority,” Spahr remarked, adding that the ever-evolving nature of cryptocurrency means that locking into a set framework could be risky.
On the other side, Republican Representative Jordan Ulery stressed the bill’s potential to generate significant revenue for the state through these investments.
New Hampshire also has two additional blockchain-related proposals in the pipeline: HB310, dealing with stablecoins and the tokenization of real-world assets, and HB639, which focuses on blockchain regulation and resolving disputes.
Meanwhile, on April 10 in Florida, the House Insurance and Banking Committee unanimously passed HB487, Florida’s Bitcoin reserve bill. Before reaching the full House, the bill must clear three additional committee reviews.
WATCH: Florida House Committee PASSES Bitcoin Reserve Bill
