New Hampshire has recently advanced a bill to establish a Bitcoin reserve to the House, with its committee endorsing the proposal on March 5.
According to Bitcoin Laws, the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee approved House Bill 302 with a significant 16-1 vote. The bill was initially introduced by Republican Keith Ammon on January 7.
The purpose of HB302 is to allow New Hampshire’s treasurer to invest up to 5% of the general fund, revenue stabilization fund, or any other funds approved by legislation into qualifying digital assets and precious metals, such as gold, silver, and platinum.
For a cryptocurrency to qualify for inclusion in the reserve, it must have sustained an average market capitalization of at least $500 billion over the previous year. Currently, Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that satisfies this requirement.
Initially, the bill proposed a 10% allocation and included provisions for stablecoins and staking options; however, an amendment later adjusted the allocation to 5% and removed these components.
Moreover, HB302 stipulates that the assets must be held either by a qualified custodian or within an exchange-traded product.
With committee approval now obtained, the bill will proceed to a full House vote. If successful, it will be subject to another committee review before heading to the Senate for a final vote.
As of now, only seven U.S. state bills, including the one from New Hampshire, have progressed to the House level, as per Bitcoin Laws. Other states at a similar stage include North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Texas, while Utah and Arizona are the only two states that have advanced beyond this point.
Utah is currently leading U.S. states in advancing Bitcoin-related legislation. On February 21, the state’s Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee voted 4-2-1 in favor of the Blockchain and Digital Innovation Amendments bill (HB230).
As reported by crypto.news, Trump is scheduled to unveil a Bitcoin reserve strategy at the White House Crypto Summit on March 7. In a recent update on Truth Social, the president suggested that the reserve may also encompass altcoins like XRP, Solana, and Cardano, in addition to Bitcoin and Ethereum.
