New Hampshire signs blockchain basic laws HB 639 after Bitcoin reserve bill

New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte has signed the HB 639, known as the Blockchain Basic Laws, giving New Hampshire crypto users, miners, and validators new legal protections, while also setting up a dedicated court docket for blockchain disputes. This new act signed into law automatically gives the state’s crypto industry a clearer legal footing than most of the country.

The law, which took effect last week, protects the right to hold digital assets through self-custody and also serves as an umbrella for the developers, miners, and businesses building on public blockchains, according to statements from the bill’s primary sponsor, Representative Keith Ammon.

New Hampshire entertains novel blockchain ideas

One of the law’s more concrete provisions lets New Hampshire’s Superior Court establish a special docket for blockchain-related disputes. A dedicated docket routes cases involving digital assets to judges specialised on the subject matter, instead of placing them in random spots across the general civil calendar.

Rep. Keith Ammon stated that the newly signed law was a marker of intent. “With Governor Ayotte’s signature on HB 639, New Hampshire has once again demonstrated that it intends to lead the nation in blockchain innovation,” he said in a statement.

He added that the law protects “the right of individuals to control their own digital assets through self-custody” and gives “clear legal protections for blockchain developers, miners, validators, entrepreneurs, and businesses.”

The New Hampshire Blockchain Council called it “another historic day for New Hampshire” in a July 13 post on X, describing the state as home to “one of the nation’s strongest legal frameworks protecting blockchain innovation and digital asset rights.”

🚨 Today is another historic day for New Hampshire.

Governor @KellyAyotte has signed HB 639, the Blockchain Basic Laws, making New Hampshire home to one of the nation’s strongest legal frameworks protecting blockchain innovation and digital asset rights.

The law protects… pic.twitter.com/DxVSfxAjpI

— NH Blockchain Council (@NHBlockchain) July 13, 2026

Blockchain Basic Laws follows Strategic Bitcoin reserve

The HB 639 signing comes slightly more than a year after the state did another novel thing in the crypto space. In May 2025, Ayotte signed a strategic Bitcoin reserve bill that lets the state treasurer put up to 5% of public funds into Bitcoin, along with precious metals such as Gold and Silver.

Rep. Ammon, who also worked on the Bitcoin reserve bill, stated then that it was “one little way our state could hedge against inflation in the future.”

However, not every crypto bill in the state has been approved and signed. Last week, New Hampshire’s Executive Council rejected a plan that would have let the New Hampshire Business Finance Authority promote Bitcoin-backed municipal bonds.

This rejection blocked what would have been the first of such a bond in the state, a reminder that the Bitcoin reserve bill’s 5% allowance has not translated into just every and any Bitcoin product officials have proposed.