New Hampshire — Bitcoin and virtual-currency law

Bitcoin Research — Law, Regulation, Markets & Origins (2026)

Legislation

2026-10-09

Document text

Research, not advice. Part of the Bitcoin research archive (October 2026). Claims labelled unverified, contested or fringe are reported, not endorsed; statuses of bills and rules are as of the date checked. Government, court and patent records are public domain; the research notes are CC BY 4.0.

New Hampshire — Bitcoin and virtual-currency law

  • Jurisdiction: State of New Hampshire (US)
  • Date checked: 2026-10-09 (all statuses below were checked on this date unless another date is given)
  • Regulators: NH Banking Department (money transmitters, RSA 399-G); Bureau of Securities Regulation; Attorney General Consumer Protection Bureau (enforces RSA 358-A, which also governs exempt crypto businesses and kiosks); State Treasurer (reserve)
  • Governor: Kelly Ayotte (signed 2025–2026 crypto laws below)
  • Legislature: 2026 session ended June 2026; new General Court elected November 2026; 2027 session from January.
  • Saved primary sources: sources/states/nh/ (see sources/states/nh/INDEX.md)

At a glance

Topic New Hampshire position Key cite Status (checked 2026-10-09)
Money-transmitter licence for Bitcoin Exempt. Persons who sell or issue payment instruments or stored value "solely in the form of convertible virtual currency or receive convertible virtual currency for transmission" are exempt from RSA 399-G, but are subject to the Consumer Protection Act (RSA 358-A) RSA 399-G:3, VII In force [S5]
Model law MTMA adopted by HB 1241 (2024), Chapter 368; CSBS: no virtual-currency title RSA 399-G:1 et seq. Effective 2024-10-22 (CSBS table) / 2024-10-24 (CSBS update) [S7][S8]
Strategic reserve (first state law) Treasurer may invest up to 5% of the general fund, rainy-day fund and other authorized funds in precious metals and in digital assets with >$500 billion average market cap over the prior calendar year (i.e., Bitcoin); custody by the treasurer (secure custody solution), a qualified custodian, or an ETP HB 302 (2025), Chapter 4, RSA 6:8-d Approved 2025-05-06; effective 2025-07-05. Treasurer had bought none as of Nov 2025 [S1][N1]
Blockchain Basic Laws Rights to self-custody and pay with digital assets with no extra tax; no state/local bans on running nodes, staking or mining; miners and node operators need no money-transmitter licence; mining/staking own assets is not a securities offering; a blockchain dispute docket in Superior Court HB 639 (2026), Chapter 286, new RSA 359-V Approved 2026-07-10; effective 2026-09-08 [S2]
Crypto ATMs / kiosks $2,000 per customer per day across all of an operator's US kiosks; 48-hour hold on a customer's first transaction (cancellable with full refund); fraud warnings and screening questions; full refund for reported fraud; enforced under RSA 358-A SB 482 (2026), Chapter 187, new RSA 358-U Approved 2026-06-19; effective 2026-12-16 [S3]
DAOs DAOs recognized as legal entities HB 645 (2024), Chapter 263 Enacted 2024 [S9]
Stablecoins / RWAs Study commission on stable tokens, tokenized real-world assets and blockchain-based trusts HB 310 (2025), Chapter 177 Enacted 2025 [S4]
Bitcoin-backed bond $100 million CleanSpark bond with Bitcoin collateral, brokered by the Business Finance Authority — rejected by the Executive Council 3-2 on 2026-07-09 — Rejected [N2][N3]
Tax No broad income tax on wages; Bitcoin payments may not carry an extra tax because a digital asset was used (RSA 359-V:2, III) HB 639 [S2]

1. Money-transmitter licensing of virtual currency

  • RSA 399-G:3, VII (saved): exempt from money-transmitter licensing are "persons who engage in the business of selling or issuing payment instruments or stored value solely in the form of convertible virtual currency or receive convertible virtual currency for transmission to another location. Such persons shall be subject to the provisions of RSA 358-A" (the Consumer Protection Act). This exemption is widely attributed to 2017 HB 436 (bill number not verified in this check). [S5]
  • HB 1241 (2024), Chapter 368 — "relative to the regulation of money transmitters …": full MTMA per CSBS (no virtual-currency title); CSBS gives the effective date as 2024-10-22 in its table and 2024-10-24 in its legislative update. HB 522 (2023) added MTMA exemptions (effective 2023-07-18). [S7][S8][S10]
  • HB 639 (2026) adds: home miners, mining businesses and node operators "shall not be required to obtain a money transmitter license under RSA 399-G." [S2]

2. Virtual-currency-specific statutes

Law What it does Status Source
HB 302 (2025), Ch. 4 — RSA 6:8-d "Strategic Reserve Established" Sponsors Reps. Ammon, Beaulier, Warden, Osborne, Sweeney, Alexander Jr.; Sens. Abbas, Avard, Murphy. Treasurer may invest public funds in gold, silver, platinum and "any digital assets with a market capitalization of over $500 billion averaged over the previous calendar year"; no more than 5% of total public funds in any one authorized investment; custody via a "secure custody solution" (keys held only by the government, never on a smartphone, two geographically separated data centers, multi-party approval, audits), a qualified custodian (bank, trust company or special purpose depository institution), or an ETP Approved 2025-05-06; effective 2025-07-05 [S1]
HB 310 (2025), Ch. 177 Commission to study a regulatory framework for stable tokens, tokenized real-world assets and blockchain-based trusts Enacted 2025 [S4]
HB 645 (2024), Ch. 263 Establishes DAOs as legal entities (NH DAO Act) Enacted 2024 [S9]
HB 639 (2026), Ch. 286 — "The Blockchain Basic Laws" (new RSA 359-V) Adopts findings of former Gov. Sununu's Commission on Cryptocurrency and Digital Assets. No state or local agency may restrict using digital assets to buy legal goods, self-custody (self-hosted or third-party wallet), or paying with digital assets "without the imposition of any tax … based solely on the fact that a digital asset was used"; no bans on operating nodes, staking or transferring; protections for home miners and mining businesses (>1 MW), including against "discriminatory" electricity rates; no money-transmitter licence for miners/node operators; mining or staking one's own assets is not a securities offering; civil remedies with attorney fees; authorizes a blockchain dispute docket in Superior Court Approved 2026-07-10; effective 2026-09-08 [S2]
SB 482 (2026), Ch. 187 — kiosks See section 3 Approved 2026-06-19; effective 2026-12-16 [S3]

Reserve in practice. As of 2025-11-21, State Treasurer Monica Mezzapelle said New Hampshire had not yet purchased any cryptocurrency and was still evaluating. [N1] No later purchase was found in this check (gap).

3. Crypto ATM / kiosk law

SB 482 (2026), Chapter 187 — new RSA 358-U "Digital Asset Transaction Kiosks." Sponsors Sens. McGough, Pearl, Gannon, Rosenwald; Reps. Ammon, Miles, Potucek, L. Walsh. Approved 2026-06-19; effective 2026-12-16 (180 days). Full text saved. [S3]

  • Findings: kiosks "have been used by scammers to induce consumers, particularly older adults," to send cash irreversibly to criminals.
  • First transaction held at least 48 hours; no second transaction until then; the customer can cancel during the hold for a full refund.
  • ID verification; no transactions under false identities; dedicated line for law enforcement and regulators.
  • Daily cap: no more than $2,000 per customer per calendar day across all kiosks under common control within the United States.
  • Conspicuous warnings (no government agency, police, court, utility, bank, tech support, employer or retailer will demand payment by crypto ATM) and fraud-screening prompts, including whether the customer is being coached; risky answers block the transaction.
  • Blockchain analytics to block flagged wallets; written anti-fraud policies.
  • On-screen disclosure of all fees and the spread vs. a reference price (percent and dollars); receipts with full details.
  • Full refund of all transactions to a fraudulently induced customer who contacts the operator and a law-enforcement or government agency in time (news reports say within 14 days). [S3][N4][N5]
  • Enforced as an unfair or deceptive act under RSA 358-A.
  • The statute text read does not set a percentage fee cap (only disclosure). [S3]
  • Background: NH officials cited about $22 million in crypto-scam losses in 2024 (NHPR, 2026-03-30). [N4]

4. Tax treatment

  • New Hampshire has no tax on wage income, and its interest-and-dividends tax was repealed effective 2025 (general knowledge; not re-verified in this check).
  • RSA 359-V:2, III (HB 639): no state or local tax, withholding, assessment or charge may be imposed "based solely on the fact that a digital asset was used as the method of payment." [S2]

5. Notable enforcement

  • No major New Hampshire crypto enforcement action was found in this check (gap). Because crypto businesses are exempt from RSA 399-G, the AG's Consumer Protection Bureau (RSA 358-A) is the main enforcer; kiosk rules will also be enforced under RSA 358-A from 2026-12-16. [S3][S5]

6. Pending and recently failed bills

  • Bitcoin-backed bond: the Business Finance Authority (BFA) proposed brokering a $100 million taxable bond for a trust tied to miner CleanSpark, collateralized by about $160 million of Bitcoin held by BitGo (160%), with forced sale if collateral fell to $140 million; Moody's rated it Ba2 (speculative) on 2026-03-31; the Executive Council rejected it 3-2 on 2026-07-09, citing the junk rating, reputational risk and volatility. BFA said no taxpayer money or state liability was involved. [N1][N2]
  • HB 1073 (2026) — timing of the DAO registry; status per NCSL March 2026: pending (final status unverified). [S6]
  • Earlier failures: HB 1444 (2024, limit local regulation of mining) — superseded in substance by HB 639; HB 1674 (2024, gold/silver legal tender); HB 225 (2024, privacy-compromising currency). [S6]

7. Contested and fringe claims (flagged, not endorsed)

  • "First state Bitcoin reserve." New Hampshire's HB 302 (approved 2025-05-06) is widely called the first state strategic-Bitcoin-reserve law; Arizona and Texas followed in 2025. The law allows but does not require buying, and none had been bought as of Nov 2025. [S1][N1] Label is a media framing.
  • Bitcoin bond. Supporters (BFA's James Key Wallace) called it a first-of-its-kind way for a company to borrow against Bitcoin with no state risk; the Executive Council majority saw reputational risk and a "highly unusual" role for a public authority in a speculative deal. [N1][N2] Policy dispute.
  • Blockchain Basic Laws. Advocates (e.g., Satoshi Action Fund, which promoted "Blockchain Basics" bills in many states — attribution unverified) present them as protecting rights; critics argue they pre-empt local control over noisy, power-hungry mining. Contested.

Sources

Saved full copies are in sources/states/nh/. gc.nh.gov sets a crawl delay of 11 seconds, which was respected.

  • [S1] NH General Court, HB 302 (2025), Chapter 4, final version text. https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/billText.aspx?sy=2025&id=707&txtFormat=html — retrieved 2026-10-09 — saved nh-2025-hb302-ch4-treasury-digital-assets-text.html
  • [S2] NH General Court, HB 639-FN (2026), Chapter 286, final version text. https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/billText.aspx?sy=2026&id=722&txtFormat=html — saved nh-2026-hb639-ch286-blockchain-basic-laws-text.html
  • [S3] NH General Court, SB 482-FN (2026), Chapter 187, final version text. https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/billText.aspx?sy=2026&id=1232&txtFormat=html — saved nh-2026-sb482-ch187-digital-access-transaction-kiosks-text.html
  • [S4] NH General Court, HB 310 (2025), Chapter 177, final version text. https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/billText.aspx?sy=2025&id=485&txtFormat=html — saved nh-2025-hb310-ch177-stable-token-rwa-commission-text.html
  • [S5] NH RSA 399-G:3, Exemptions (current). https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXXVI/399-G/399-G-3.htm — saved nh-rsa-399-G-3-money-transmitter-exemptions.html
  • [S6] NCSL, 2024–2026 cryptocurrency legislation pages. https://www.ncsl.org/financial-services/cryptocurrency-digital-or-virtual-currency-and-digital-assets-2026-legislation — read 2026-10-09
  • [S7] CSBS, MTMA State Enactments (PDF dated 2026-10-08). https://www.csbs.org/sites/default/files/external-link-files/10.8.26%20MTMA%20State%20Enactments.pdf
  • [S8] CSBS, MTMA legislative update (August 2026). https://www.csbs.org/mtma-legislative-update-august-2026
  • [S9] NH General Court bill status, HB 645 (2024): Chapter 0263, "Signed by Governor." https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/results.aspx?txtsessionyear=2024&txtbillnumber=HB645 — read 2026-10-09
  • [S10] NH General Court bill status, HB 1241 (2024): Chapter 0368, "Signed by Governor." https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/results.aspx?txtsessionyear=2024&txtbillnumber=HB1241 — read 2026-10-09
  • [N1] NHPR, "NH to play role in unique Bitcoin-backed bond deal," 2025-11-21. https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2025-11-21/bitcoin-nh-bond-deal-cryptocurrency-crypto — summary only
  • [N2] Tech Times, "New Hampshire Rejects First Bitcoin Bond in 3-2 Vote: Junk Rating Doomed It," 2026-07-10. https://www.techtimes.com/articles/320115/20260710/new-hampshire-rejects-first-bitcoin-bond-3-2-vote-junk-rating-doomed — summary only
  • [N3] Yahoo Finance, "New Hampshire Follows Bitcoin Reserve With 'Blockchain Basic Laws' Signing," 2026-07-13. https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/hampshire-follows-bitcoin-blockchain-basic-205709088.html — summary only
  • [N4] NHPR, "Bill aims to protect victims in NH from crypto ATM scams," 2026-03-30. https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2026-03-30/cryptocurrency-atm-scam-fraud-elderly-protections-money — summary only (the article mislabels SB 482 as "HB 1232"; 1232 is the General Court's internal text ID)
  • [N5] Yahoo News, "Limits on crypto ATM purchases in NH become a reality to thwart crooks," 2026-06-23. https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/limits-crypto-atm-purchases-nh-035900976.html — summary only (gives signing as June 23; the General Court record says approved 2026-06-19)