The New Hampshire Executive Council rejected a plan Wednesday to approve a $100 million bond backed by Bitcoin, killing an idea that state officials had proposed as the first form of digital currency in the Granite State.
New Hampshire legislators voted 3-2 against, according to to announce from Boston Globe.
The New Hampshire Business Finance Authority and Governor Kelly Ayotte touted the deal as “groundbreaking” and “historic.” Agreement he would have stopped as the world’s first Bitcoin-backed contract. A plan had been prepared Moody’s opinion and he came to the Executive Council for it final vote before delivery.
The organization did not participate in that interest. Karen Liot Hill, the lone Democrat, framed her criticism as caution rather than hatred.
“I’m not against Bitcoin or cryptocurrency in general,” he said Boston Globe. “But I think we’re being asked as a government to borrow legitimate money, which comes from…
Bitcoin is ‘out’
James Key-Wallace, chief executive of the Business Finance Authority, condemned the incident. “The challenge I would have is … I wouldn’t say ‘they’re coming out,'” he said. “They have ‘discovered.’ He is here.”
Key-Wallace stressed that the deal poses no risk to New Hampshire taxpayers. A loan agreement would create a channel between a private investor and a private borrower, with cryptocurrency as collateral.
The government can’t borrow anything, even the Bitcoin crash. If Bitcoin goes up in three years, government officials could collect millions of dollars for small businesses, childcare, housing, and economic development. He said the deal could bring “a lot”.
Ayotte, who last year signed a law giving the state treasurer the discretion to invest in Bitcoin and make New Hampshire a tax haven. The first country to offer a way to store Bitcoin into lawhe defended the need to move first.
“I think it’s something we need to think about,” he said, “because our country continues to thrive as we continue to innovate — especially if we can do it in a way that protects the taxpayer.”
Liot Hill moved to second the proposal, but no colleague seconded his motion, a silence that sent the plan to a final vote. Janet Stevens and David Wheeler joined him in opposition. Joseph Kenney and John Stephen voted in favor.
Key-Wallace said her team is still excited about the government’s progress in the digital economy, and has made suggestions to the council for the future.
