What Is New Hampshire’s Bitcoin Bond and How Does It Work?

TLDR

• The New Hampshire Business Finance Authority is set to issue the first rated bitcoin-backed municipal bond in the US
• Moody’s assigned it a provisional Ba2 rating — speculative grade, below investment grade
• Bitcoin held in custody by BitGo serves as collateral, with 1.6x overcollateralization
• No public funds are at risk; New Hampshire acts as a conduit issuer only
• The bond starts at $100 million and was designed by Wave Digital Assets and Rosemawr Management

The New Hampshire Business Finance Authority (BFA) is preparing to issue what is believed to be the first rated bitcoin-backed municipal bond in the United States.

Moody’s Ratings assigned the bond a provisional Ba2 rating on Tuesday. That places it in speculative-grade territory, two notches below investment grade, meaning it carries substantial credit risk.

The rating is provisional because Moody’s is still waiting on final legal documents before issuing its full verdict. The bond does not yet have an official launch date.

Bitcoin held by BitGo Trust Company serves as the collateral for the bond. If payments need to be made, the bitcoin will be liquidated to cover interest and principal.

The structure includes a 1.6x overcollateralization requirement. There are also triggers that force liquidation if the loan-to-value ratio drops too far.

Moody’s used a 72% advance rate and short liquidation windows when modeling downside risk. The agency pointed to bitcoin’s price volatility as the main factor behind the Ba2 rating.

S&P Global noted earlier this month that bitcoin’s volatility has been declining over time but still sits well above that of gold and the Nasdaq-100.

No Public Money on the Line

The bonds are limited recourse. That means New Hampshire’s public funds cannot be used to repay bondholders under any circumstances.

Moody’s confirmed this in its report, stating that “no public funds of the State of New Hampshire may be used to pay amounts under the Rated Bonds.”

New Hampshire is acting as a conduit issuer here, similar to how states sometimes issue bonds for private projects. The state’s credit is not backing this deal.

How the Bond Was Built

The New Hampshire BFA approved the project back in November 2025. At the time, the authority said it would be the first state in the world to issue such a bond.

The program was designed by asset manager Wave Digital Assets in partnership with bond specialist Rosemawr Management. BitGo Trust Company is serving as custodian for the bitcoin collateral.

The bond program starts at $100 million. It allows companies to borrow against overcollateralized bitcoin holdings.

Fees earned from the program are set to fund a Bitcoin Economic Development Fund. The BFA says this will support business growth and financial innovation in New Hampshire.

This deal puts bitcoin into a corner of finance where it has rarely appeared — rated debt issued through public channels.

On Monday, the Labor Department proposed a rule, following an executive order from President Trump, that would expand access to digital assets in retirement portfolios.

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