A first-in-the-nation financial reform aimed at making New Hampshire a beachhead for cryptocurrency investment cleared the House, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported. The bill would position the state ahead of others on digital currency rules.
A first-in-the-nation financial reform aimed at making New Hampshire a beachhead for investment in cryptocurrency cleared the House of Representatives Tuesday.
the New Hampshire Union Leader
House Majority Leader Jason Osborne praised the action, telling the New Hampshire Union Leader: HB 1503 would attract investments and jobs by signaling to this rapidly growing industry that we are open for business.
He said he wanted to carry the measure across the finish line and into law.
“HB 1503 would attract investments and jobs by signaling to this rapidly growing industry that we are open for business. I look forward to working with Gov. Sununu and the Senate to make this bill law,” Osborne said.
the New Hampshire Union Leader
The bill would make New Hampshire the first state to adopt a draft of the federal Uniform Commercial Code to pave the way for “controllable electronic records” such as bitcoin, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported, following the lead of Wyoming, which exempted bitcoin sellers and developers from its securities laws in 2018. The House voted 187-150 to send the legislation to the Senate, and a move to table it failed 188-149.
Bill author Rep. Keith Ammon told colleagues the technology would reshape the economy, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported.
“We are in the fourth industrial revolution and data is the new oil,” Ammon said.
the New Hampshire Union Leader
Rep. Joyce Weston, a Democrat, called the bill premature because the federal UCC language had not been finalized, asking “What’s the hurry?” according to the New Hampshire Union Leader. The governor’s office was non-committal, with a spokesman saying Sununu “will carefully review the language” if the bill reaches his desk. Sununu had separately signed an executive order creating a 12-person commission to study the topic.
Even a former skeptic came around on the technology during the debate. Rep. Jess Edwards conceded that bill author Keith Ammon had been right years earlier about where the digital economy was heading.
“If I had followed the vision of my friend from New Boston five years ago, I would be filthy rich,” Edwards joked.
the New Hampshire Union Leader
The bill would make New Hampshire the first state to adopt a draft of the federal Uniform Commercial Code covering digital assets, building on a path Wyoming opened in 2018. Gov. Chris Sununu had separately created a commission of experts to study cryptocurrency and recommend further reforms. The House sent the bill to the Senate on a 187-150 vote after a motion to table it failed, with the governor’s office reserving judgment until the final language reached his desk. Supporters argued that moving early would position the state to capture a fast-growing industry, while skeptics cautioned that the underlying federal code had not been finalized.
Read the full story at the New Hampshire Union Leader.
