Keith Ammon, Recent Hampshire State Representative for Recent Boston, Mont Vernon, Lyndeborough and Vice Chairman for Trade and Consumer Affairs, opened the discussion on the potential for diversifying the state’s financial reserves into Bitcoin ETFs. His comments sent on X (formerly Twitter) highlight the dramatic “what if” scenario that highlights BTC’s explosive growth over the past decade.

What Bitcoin Can Do for Recent Hampshire

Ammon’s reflection on the state’s financial decisions comes at a time when BTC and other digital assets are gaining increasing recognition from mainstream institutional investors. His detailed analysis concluded that: “Should Recent Hampshire explore allocating a diminutive percentage of its reserves to a Bitcoin ETF? Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but if NH had put just 5% ($4.65 million) of its 2016 rainy day fund of $93 million into Bitcoin and kept it the amount of BTC would be worth almost half a billion dollars ($473 million) today, a return on investment of 10,000%.

This claim is due to the augment in institutional interest in BTC as a profitable asset class. According to recent insights from BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, there has been a noticeable augment in the number of investors in Bitcoin ETFs, which now include entities such as sovereign wealth funds and pensions.

Additionally, Ammon cites Manuel Nordeste, Fidelity’s vice president of digital assets, who recently highlighted a growing trend among major pension funds and huge banks toward Bitcoin ETF allocations to the cash market, driven by growing interest in the digital asset market. “25% of pension managers on the last panel personally own digital assets. If just 1% of state pension AUM ($5.5 trillion) flowed into BTC, it would generate mining revenues, leading to a supply shortfall relative to demand and an increase in the price of Bitcoin,” Ammon said.

Reflecting on potential future impacts, Ammon also referred to the predictions of Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest, who predicted a significant augment in the value of Bitcoin. Wood speculates that Bitcoin could reach $3.8 million per unit by 2030 if institutional investors allocate more than 5% of their portfolios to the cryptocurrency.

Using this forecast, Ammon extrapolated the potential returns for Recent Hampshire: “If NH invested 5% ($14.5 million) of its $290 million rainy day fund balance in a Bitcoin ETF at today’s prices and held it through 2030 , its valuation would be almost one billion dollars ($900 million), which means a return on investment of 6,200%.

The consequences of such investments go beyond mere speculative profits. Recent Hampshire has outstanding liabilities totaling approximately $1.45 billion, including $1.25 billion to the state pension system and approximately $200 million in bonds.

Ammon argues that exploring alternative investments like Bitcoin could be a viable solution to these financial challenges, suggesting: “How could we get out of this hole? The answer may be staring us in the face and is worth exploring.”

Reactions from the BTC community and financial experts were quick. James Lavish, a renowned authority on Bitcoin, emphasized the importance of this consideration from a fiduciary responsibility perspective.

He noted: “The plain answer is yes. The more involved answer is that not exploring at least a possible allocation to Bitcoin would be a breach of fiduciary duty, given the alarming deficit levels and exponentially growing federal debt.

Dennis Porter, CEO and co-founder of Satoshi Act, a nonprofit organization advocating for bitcoin mining in the U.S., succinctly endorsed the concept with the words: “You know my answer.”

Ammon’s proposal underscores the growing politicization of Bitcoin in the U.S., highlighting the shift toward cryptocurrencies becoming a prominent electoral issue. This trend is further confirmed by former US President Donald Trump’s recent shift towards a pro-BTC and cryptocurrency stance, aiming to leverage this stance in his bid to return to the White House.

Trump’s change of heart marks a significant development, reflecting the growing importance of cryptocurrencies in political strategies and national economic discussions.

At the time of publication, the BTC price was $62,799.

Featured image from Granite State Times, chart from TradingView.com