New Hampshire signs HB 639, expanding legal protections for blockchain activity

What HB 639 does

The new law is framed around legal safeguards for digital-asset activity. According to the bill’s backers, it protects the right of individuals to hold their own digital assets through self-custody. It also establishes legal protections for a range of blockchain participants, including developers, miners, validators, entrepreneurs, and businesses working in the sector.

In addition to those protections, HB 639 permits the creation of a dedicated blockchain dispute docket within the superior court system. The source article did not detail how that docket would operate, but it described the provision as part of the broader effort to provide a clearer legal environment for blockchain-related activity in the state.

Sponsor says state aims to lead

Representative Keith Ammon, the bill’s primary sponsor, said the signing shows that New Hampshire wants to be at the forefront of blockchain policy in the United States. In a statement cited by the source article, Ammon said the law reflects the state’s intention to lead the nation in blockchain innovation.

He also described self-custody as a core right in the digital economy and said the law is meant to offer clarity and protection to those building and using blockchain-based technologies. His comments placed the measure within a wider push to make New Hampshire welcoming to crypto and financial-technology development.

Part of a broader crypto policy push

The new legislation follows another major crypto policy move by the state. Last year, New Hampshire passed a strategic Bitcoin reserve measure that Ayotte signed in May 2025. That earlier law allows the state treasurer to invest up to 5% of public funds in Bitcoin, alongside precious metals including gold and silver.

Ammon was also closely involved in that bill. At the time, he told Decrypt that the reserve law was “one little way” for the state to hedge against inflation in the future.

Taken together, the two laws suggest a continuing effort by New Hampshire officials to build a legal framework that is comparatively supportive of cryptocurrency ownership, blockchain development, and related financial experimentation.

New Hampshire’s latest move adds to the state’s growing record of crypto legislation, pairing investment authority under its Bitcoin reserve law with statutory protections for self-custody and blockchain businesses under HB 639. Supporters have presented both measures as part of a strategy to position the state as a national leader in the sector.