New Hampshire’s state executive board rejected a plan Wednesday to allow a $100 million bond issue backed by bitcoin, scrapping a proposal that state officials saw as the nation’s first attempt to attract digital finance to the Granite State.
Members of the New Hampshire State Assembly voted 3-2 against it, according to the International website. Preparing reports from Boston Globe.
The New Hampshire Business Finance Authority and Governor Kelly Ayotte touted the bonds as “groundbreaking” and “historic.” The deal I stood up As the world’s first Bitcoin-backed municipal bond. The plan has been cleared Moody’s ratings And I got to the Executive Board for it Final vote Before its release.
The Council did not share this enthusiasm. Karen Liut Hill, the lone Democrat, portrayed her opposition as cautious rather than aggressive.
“I am not opposed to Bitcoin or cryptocurrency in general,” she said. Boston Globe. “But I think we are being asked as a country to bring some kind of legitimacy to a financial transaction, which is an emerging asset class that has proven to be very volatile.”
Bitcoin “popped”
James K. Wallace, executive director of the Business Finance Authority, objected to this framework. “The only quibble I would have is…I wouldn’t call them juniors,” he said. They “appeared.” “They are here.”
Key Wallace stressed that the bonds carry no risk to New Hampshire taxpayers. The loan agreement would create a channel between private investors and the private borrower, with cryptocurrency as collateral.
The country will not owe anything, even if Bitcoin collapses. If bitcoin rises during the three-year period, the authority could collect millions in fees for small businesses, child care, housing and economic development programs. He said the deal could lead to “several other things.”
Ayotte, who last year signed a law giving the state treasurer discretionary authority to invest in Bitcoin, and made New Hampshire the only city First state to pass Bitcoin Strategic Reserve into lawStand up for the value of moving first.
“I think it’s something we really need to think about, because our state continues to thrive when we continue to innovate — especially if we can do it in a way that protects taxpayers,” she said.
Liut Hill moved to put the proposal forward, but no colleague supported the proposal, a silence that sent the plan to a final vote. Janet Stevens and David Wheeler joined her in opposition. Joseph Kenney and John Stephen voted in favour.
Key Wallace said his team remains passionate about the state’s role in the digital asset economy, and offered to bring the idea to the council in the future.
