The New Hampshire Enterprise Finance Authority is set to issue what appears to be the first qualified bitcoin-backed bond of its kind, marking a step toward integrating cryptocurrencies into traditional public finances.
The bonds received a provisional rating of Ba2 from Moody’s Ratings, two levels below investment grade. They will be issued through the State of New Hampshire Enterprise Finance Authority and are backed by bitcoin. held as collateral, according to a press release.
“The rated bonds will be secured by a loan…backed by Bitcoin, a digital currency,” Moody’s said in its report.
The structure is based on bitcoins rather than a company’s cash flow. Bondholders receive their repayment through the liquidation of BTC held in custody by BitGo, which will be sold if necessary to meet interest and principal payments. The deal includes safeguards common in structured credit, including a 1.6 times overcollateralization and triggers that force liquidation if the loan-to-value ratio deteriorates.
Moody’s said its rating reflects “the risks associated with the collateral, structure and operation of the transaction,” including bitcoin’s volatility. The agency used a 72% progress rate and short settlement windows to model possible negative scenarios.
The bonds have a limited recourse, meaning no public funds are at risk. “No public funds of the State of New Hampshire…may be used to pay amounts under the Qualified Bonds,” Moody’s said.
That distinction matters. While the agreement uses a state authority, it does not have state credit support. Rather, it is similar to project or conduit financing, where the issuer acts as an intermediary.
Still, the structure places bitcoin in a part of the financial system where it has rarely appeared: rated debt issued through public channels.
The Ba2 rating puts the bonds in speculative-grade territory, but also indicates that credit agencies are developing frameworks for evaluating cryptocurrency-backed instruments.
The deal comes as institutions continue to test ways to use bitcoin beyond trading or treasury holdings. The Labor Department on Monday proposed a rule following an executive order from President Donald Trump directing regulators to expand access to digital assets in retirement portfolios, marking another step in that direction.
