New Hampshire signs blockchain rights law after Bitcoin reserve move

New Hampshire has added another crypto-friendly law, giving blockchain users and builders more explicit protections at the state level. For everyday investors, the move matters because state rules can shape where crypto companies operate, how users hold assets and how disputes get handled.

Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed HB 639 last week. The measure is known as the Blockchain Basic Laws act, according to New Hampshire Representative Keith Ammon, the bill’s main sponsor.

The law creates protections for cryptocurrency use and blockchain-related activity in the state. It also allows New Hampshire to set up a special blockchain dispute docket in superior court, according to the bill. A docket is a court track for handling a category of cases, which could give crypto-related disputes a more focused path through the legal system.

Ammon said in a statement that Ayotte’s signature shows New Hampshire wants to be a national leader in blockchain innovation. He said the law protects self-custody, which means a person controls their own digital assets rather than leaving them with a third-party platform such as an exchange.

Ammon also said the measure offers legal protections for “blockchain developers, miners, validators, entrepreneurs, and businesses” working on financial technology. Miners and validators are network participants that help process and secure transactions on different types of blockchains.

A follow-up to New Hampshire’s Bitcoin reserve law

HB 639 comes after New Hampshire passed a strategic Bitcoin reserve law. Ayotte signed that measure in May 2025, allowing the state treasurer to put up to 5% of public funds into Bitcoin, along with precious metals such as gold and silver, according to Decrypt.

Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency by market value, and supporters often frame it as an inflation hedge because its supply is capped by code. Public investment in Bitcoin also adds price risk to government balance sheets because the asset can move sharply in both directions.

Ammon, who was also involved in the reserve legislation, told Decrypt at the time that the reserve was “one little way our state could hedge against inflation in the future.” After HB 639 was signed, he said in a statement that New Hampshire had taken “another major step” and that the state is “open for blockchain business.”

State support has limits

New Hampshire’s latest law does not mean every crypto proposal is getting through state government. The state’s executive council recently rejected a proposal that would have allowed the New Hampshire Business Finance Authority to facilitate a Bitcoin-backed municipal bond, according to a report cited by Decrypt.

A municipal bond is debt issued by a government or public authority to raise money. A Bitcoin-backed version would connect that borrowing structure to the crypto asset in some form, adding a new layer of digital-asset exposure to a traditional public-finance tool.

The split outcome shows where New Hampshire stands now: lawmakers and the governor have moved to protect blockchain activity and permit limited public investment in Bitcoin, while other state officials have shown caution about adding Bitcoin to municipal finance.

This story draws on original reporting from Decrypt.