State-backed Bitcoin venture blocked by Executive Council

State-backed Bitcoin venture blocked by Executive Council | CloseUp

CLEANING UP WASHINGTON. WELCOME BACK TO CLOSE UP. LAST WEEK, THE NEW HAMPSHIRE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL VOTED AGAINST ISSUING WHAT IS CALLED A CONDUIT BOND THAT WOULD HAVE PUT THE GRANITE STATE ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF THE DIGITAL CURRENCY WORLD. THE VOTE WAS 3 TO 2 IN OPPOSITION OF THE PLAN BROUGHT FORWARD BY THE BUSINESS FINANCE AUTHORITY, WITH GOVERNOR KELLY AYOTTE’S APPROVAL. IT WOULD HAVE HELPED A COMPANY CALLED CLEANSPARK ACQUIRE $100 MILLION OF BITCOIN. ON PAPER, OFFICIALS SAID THERE WAS NO RISK TO NEW HAMPSHIRE. THIS WAS ALL PRIVATE CAPITAL WITH NO TAXPAYER DOLLARS INVOLVED, JUST AN INVESTMENT VEHICLE THAT COULD ONLY BE CREATED AND ISSUED BY THE STATE. COUNCILORS WHO VOTED AGAINST THE MEASURE SAID THEY DIDN’T SEE WHY THE STATE SHOULD GET INVOLVED, EVEN THOUGH THE BUSINESS FINANCE AUTHORITY SAID IT COULD BRING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS INTO STATE COFFERS. LET’S SAY BITCOIN DOUBLES IN THREE YEARS, WHICH IT’S DONE MORE THAN THAT. SO IT’S GONE DOWN. BUT LET’S SAY IT DOUBLES 100 MILLION IS 200 MILLION. THE BASE FEE IS 12.5% OF THAT. SO THE STATE WOULD GET 12.5 MILLION TO INVEST INTO OUR LOCAL ECONOMIES. BITCOIN GOES UP 10%. THAT’S A MILLION AND A QUARTER, RIGHT? THAT’S A BIG DEAL. IF BITCOIN GOES DOWN, WE DON’T LOSE ANYTHING. WE DON’T GET THIS BIG UPSIDE, BUT WE GET THE OPTION FOR IT. SO THERE’S A LOT OF PUBLIC BENEFIT THAT GOES THROUGH THE BFA. BUT ALSO THIS IS THE TRANSACTION THAT’S GETTING A LOT OF ATTENTION. AND THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHER COMPANIES WHO WOULD WANT TO DO A VERY SIMILAR THING SAYING, LET’S MAKE NEW HAMPSHIRE OUR HOME FOR FINANCIAL INNOVATION. RIGHT. AND THAT’S A GOOD PLACE TO BE BECAUSE IT’S NOT TAXPAYER RISK DOESN’T REQUIRE PERMITTING. IT’S EASY TO CONSTRUCT ONCE YOU’VE DONE THEM. AND IT’S SORT OF IT’S THIS MOMENTUM, RIGHT? INNOVATIVE STATE GETS THAT MOMENTUM ANY TIME YOU ARE THE FIRST TIME, FIRST PERSON DOING SOMETHING, YOU MIGHT BE GETTING IT RIGHT, BUT YOU ALSO MIGHT NOT. AND I THINK THIS IS $100 MILLION. THIS IS THE LEGITIMACY OF THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. AND IT MAY WELL BE THAT ALL OF YOUR PROJECTIONS FOR THE FUTURE ARE ARE ACCURATE, AND THERE’S NOTHING TO BE WORRIED ABOUT HERE. BUT IT ALSO MAY BE THAT THERE IS SOMETHING TO BE WORRIED ABOUT HERE. I WANTED TO SEE IT PASS. BUT YOU KNOW, THE COUNCIL FEELS THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE TIME TO CONSIDER THESE MATTERS. AND I UNDERSTAND THAT AND RESPECT THAT. SO THAT COULD COME FORWARD AGAIN. WELL, I THINK JUST THEY WANTED MORE TIME BECAUSE OF THE DIGITAL CURRENCY ISSUE. AND I THINK THAT THEY DIDN’T THINK THAT THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT THEY WANTED TO CONSIDER RIGHT NOW. AND SO I RESPECT THAT PEOPLE CAN HAVE REASONABLE DISAGREEMENTS ON THAT. I DO THINK THAT THE BUSINESS FINANCE AUTHORITY DID A THOROUGH JOB OF RESEARCHING THIS MATTER, AND THERE WERE NO TAXPAYER DOLLARS AT ISSUE INSURANCE. GOVERNOR AYOTTE SUGGESTED THAT THIS ITEM COULD BE BROUGHT BACK BEFORE THE COUNCIL. ONCE COUNCILORS HAVE MORE TIME TO STUDY THE ISSUE. BUT THERE WAS A LOT OF SKEPTICISM THERE AT THE MEETING IN THE MANCHESTER MILLYARD, AT LEAST AMONG THOSE THREE COUNCILORS. WELL, THAT WRAPS UP THIS EDITION OF CLOSE UP NEW HAMPSHIRE. THANKS FOR WATCHING. MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE POLITICS PAGE ON OUR WEBSITE AND MOBILE APP FOR MORE IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS. AND TO SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER. WE’LL BE BA

State-backed Bitcoin venture blocked by Executive Council | CloseUp