Governor Kelly Ayotte signed the bill into law on May 6. Meanwhile, controversy is mounting at the federal level, with President Trump facing bipartisan backlash over his personal involvement in cryptocurrency, including his TRUMP meme coin and a planned gala for major holders. The situation intensified political divisions in Congress, and also stalled crypto legislation as Democrats and Republicans clash over ethics, regulation, and the president’s financial ties to the crypto industry.
New Hampshire Takes the Lead in Crypto Adoption
New Hampshire officially became the first US state to authorize government investment in cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, after the signing of House Bill 302 into law by Governor Kelly Ayotte. The bill was introduced in January and passed by both chambers of the state legislature.
It allows the state treasury to allocate funds into cryptocurrencies and precious metals. However, the legislation limits these investments to digital assets with a market capitalization of more than $500 billion, which effectively narrows the scope to major players like Bitcoin and Ethereum while excluding most smaller tokens and meme coins.
Governor Ayotte announced the move on social media on May 6, which signals a new era for state-level crypto adoption. The state’s Republican leadership praised the bill by stating that New Hampshire is setting the pace for integrating digital assets into public financial strategy. The decision puts the "Live Free or Die" state at the forefront of a growing movement among US states to explore the creation of strategic crypto reserves.
This development happened during broader national discussions about the role of cryptocurrency in government financial planning. At the federal level, President Donald Trump issued an executive order earlier this year to establish a “Digital Asset Stockpile” and a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.” Meanwhile, Senator Cynthia Lummis proposed the BITCOIN Act, which suggests that the US government could accumulate over 1 million BTC through seizures tied to criminal and civil forfeiture. The bill is currently under review by the Senate Banking Committee.
New Hampshire’s proactive legislation sets it apart from other states that attempted similar moves but failed to secure executive approval. Arizona, for example, passed a similar bill in April, only for it to be vetoed by Governor Katie Hobbs on May 2. Florida also dropped two legislative efforts related to creating a Bitcoin reserve just a day later. As a result, New Hampshire now stands alone in officially embracing crypto as a treasury asset.
Crypto Sparks Congressional Clash
Although one state is making strides when it comes to embracing crypto, the same cannot be said for the whole of the US. A joint hearing on digital assets in the US House was thrown into political turmoil on May 6 when Representative Maxine Waters, ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC), led a group of Democratic lawmakers in walking out.
Waters denounced what she called “the corruption of the President of the United States” in relation to cryptocurrency, and called President Donald Trump’s personal crypto holdings and involvement in the industry a serious conflict of interest. Despite her objections, Republican lawmakers, led by digital asset subcommittee Chair Bryan Steil, continued the session by classifying it as a “roundtable,” and skirting certain committee rules that may have otherwise stopped the proceeding.
HFSC Chair French Hill urged lawmakers to press ahead with developing a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets, but avoided directly addressing concerns about Trump’s alleged financial entanglements.
Waters’ protest was part of a broader strategy that was announced the day prior, which reflects the rising tension over the president’s actions that include launching a meme coin, offering exclusive dinners to major token holders, and maintaining family connections to the crypto firm World Liberty Financial.
As Republicans advanced their proposed crypto market structure bill during the roundtable, Democrats held a separate “shadow hearing” where they unveiled draft legislation that would ban the president, vice president, members of Congress, and their immediate families from owning or profiting from cryptocurrencies. The bill will also ban these officials from leading digital asset projects or accepting crypto-based compensation.
Legislation proposed by Democrats (Source: House Financial Services Committee Democrats)
The increasingly partisan divide threatens to stall progress on digital asset legislation, including a Senate stablecoin bill that recently lost Democratic support due to allegations of presidential impropriety. Even some Republicans, like Senator Cynthia Lummis and Senator Lisa Murkowski, criticized the Trump family’s involvement in the crypto sector, and Congressman Hill admitted it complicates the path forward for regulation.
TRUMP Coin Gala Causes Bipartisan Outrage
US President Donald Trump is also facing growing bipartisan backlash over plans to host a gala dinner for top holders of his TRUMP meme coin. On May 5, Trump announced via Truth Social that the dinner will take place on May 22, which only intensified concerns among lawmakers about conflicts of interest and potential corruption. Critics argue that Trump is effectively offering exclusive presidential access in exchange for investment in a digital asset that is tied to his personal brand and business interests.
(Source: Truth Social)
Several Democratic lawmakers, including Senators Elizabeth Warren, Adam Schiff, and Jon Ossoff, publicly condemned the initiative. Schiff and Warren co-signed a letter accusing the president of selling privileged access, while Ossoff suggested at a recent town hall that the plan constituted an impeachable offense.
Republican lawmakers have not been silent either. Senator Cynthia Lummis also voiced her discomfort with the president using the White House as an incentive for crypto investors. She called the arrangement troubling, even as a supporter of digital assets.
To complicate the situation even more is a recent international deal involving a Trump-backed stablecoin, USD1. On May 1, Abu Dhabi-based firm MGX used USD1 to settle a $2 billion investment into Binance.
The stablecoin’s market cap surged from roughly $137 million to over $2 billion in 24 hours. Senator Warren called this a “shady crypto deal” with the United Arab Emirates and warned of the national security implications. She called on the Senate to pause all pro-crypto legislation in light of the potential for foreign financial influence over the president.
Legal experts are still divided on whether Trump’s actions are actually in violation of any existing statutes. Niko Demchuk from AMLBot pointed out the need for clearer disclosure and conflict-of-interest rules to prevent misuse of digital assets by public officials, while Yarden Noy from DLT Law stated that current regulations may not apply to Trump’s dealings. Noy also pointed to the constitutional prohibition on emoluments, though its applicability in this case is very uncertain.
Trump’s conflicting remarks on whether he profited from the TRUMP meme coin only added to the scrutiny. In a clip that was circulated by Warren, Trump seems evasive about his financial involvement by claiming not to have even looked at whether he has profited.
