In the second quarter, New Hampshire's 2026 session got down to final decisions. One major bill became law, another reached the Governor's desk after a conference committee, and the state's bitcoin-backed bond went before House lawmakers. In Washington, the market-structure bill took its biggest step yet in the Senate, and regulators kept writing the rules for stablecoins and crypto banking.

SB 482: crypto-kiosk limits become law

SB 482 regulates cryptocurrency kiosks, the cash-to-crypto machines that scammers increasingly use to drain victims' savings. The House Commerce majority recommended an amendment that would have weakened the bill, but on April 23 the full House rejected it 135–220. The House then passed the Senate's version 214–140. Governor Kelly Ayotte signed SB 482 on June 19 as Chapter 187. It takes effect December 16, 2026.

The New Hampshire Union Leader and New Hampshire Bulletin report that the law includes:

  • a $2,000 per-customer daily transaction limit;
  • a 48-hour hold on a customer's first transaction;
  • identity verification;
  • a full refund when fraud is reported to the operator and police within 14 days.

Debate on the floor was sharp. Rep. Keith Ammon offered an amendment to apply the limits only to new customers, and it failed.

HB 639: Blockchain Basic Laws clear conference

The Senate passed its version of HB 639 in March. On April 23 the House declined to accept the Senate's amendments and asked for a committee of conference. The House conferees were Reps. Hunt, Ammon, D. McGuire and Spier; the Senate conferees were Sens. Gray, Innis and Avard. The committee met May 26. On June 4 both chambers adopted the conference report by voice vote, sending the bill to the Governor nearly a year and a half after it was introduced.

The bill protects the right to use digital assets for payment, to self-custody, to run a node, to mine and to stake. It also creates a dedicated blockchain dispute docket in the courts.

The bitcoin-backed bond goes before House Commerce

On April 8, Business Finance Authority Executive Director James Key-Wallace answered questions from the House Commerce Committee about the proposed bitcoin-backed bond and its provisional Moody's rating, Business NH Magazine reported. The bond is up to $100 million, collateralized with bitcoin and carries no state guarantee. Rep. Ammon, the committee's vice chair, called it "a starting point, not a ceiling." The bond still needed approval from the Governor and Executive Council.

CLARITY Act clears Senate Banking

On May 14 the Senate Banking Committee approved the CLARITY Act 15–9. It is the market-structure bill that would divide oversight of digital assets between the SEC and CFTC. Two Democrats, Sens. Gallego and Alsobrooks, joined Republicans. Roll Call reported that both said their support on the floor depends on ethics provisions. An amendment to bar officials from issuing tokens failed 11–13. The bill was placed on the Senate calendar on June 1.

Stablecoin rules, trust charters and a fintech order

Agencies released a wave of rules under the GENIUS Act, according to a Morgan Lewis summary:

  • April 3: Treasury set out principles for when a state's stablecoin regime counts as "substantially similar" to the federal one. That bears directly on any future New Hampshire framework.
  • April 7: The FDIC approved a proposal on prudential standards. It says stablecoin reserve deposits are not pass-through insured and that tokenized deposits can be insured deposits.
  • April 10: FinCEN and OFAC proposed anti-money-laundering and sanctions rules for issuers.

On April 2 Coinbase received conditional approval for an OCC national trust charter, the eighth crypto firm approved since December 2025. On May 19 a White House executive order told financial regulators to update their rules for fintech and digital assets. Two days later, Rep. Begich introduced H.R. 8957, a bill on the federal Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

What it means for New Hampshire

New Hampshire ended the quarter with clear protections for people who hold, use and build with digital assets heading to the Governor, and a new consumer-protection law for kiosks. The two bills show the balance the council argues for: protect individual rights and responsible innovation, and deal with fraud directly. Watch for three things next: the Governor's action on HB 639, the Executive Council's vote on the bitcoin-backed bond, and how operators adapt before SB 482 takes effect in December. On the federal side, Treasury's state-regime principles make the work of New Hampshire's stable token commission more relevant than ever.