Wall Street credit agency Moody’s has assigned a provisional Ba2 rating to up to $100 million in Bitcoin-backed revenue bonds issued through New Hampshire’s Business Finance Authority. This is reported to be the first time a major credit agency has rated a bond directly collateralized by Bitcoin. The bonds are backed solely by Bitcoin held in custody at BitGo, with no New Hampshire public funds at risk, and are structured with specific collateralization ratios and liquidation triggers.
Wall Street credit agency Moody’s has issued its first credit rating for Bitcoin-backed bonds. The firm assigned a provisional Ba2 rating to a pair of bonds with a combined face value of up to $100 million issued under the Waverose Finance Project.
This Ba2 rating places the bonds two notches below investment grade, in speculative territory. The rating assignment itself marks a milestone, as Moody’s stated this is the first time a major credit agency has rated a bond directly collateralized by Bitcoin.
The bonds are limited-recourse instruments issued through New Hampshire’s Business Finance Authority, which is acting as a conduit issuer. Repayment comes solely from the liquidation of Bitcoin held in custody by BitGo Bank & Trust, with no state public funds at risk.
Moody’s applied a 72.06% advance rate and a two-day exposure period consistent with the Ba2 rating for Bitcoin collateral. “The advance rate reflects an assessment of Bitcoin’s historical volatility and liquidity,” the firm wrote.
Initial overcollateralization is set at 1.60x, with a loan-to-value trigger at 1.40x that would force mandatory redemption if breached. The bonds have not yet priced, and a pre-sale report would be available soon.
Rated Bitcoin-linked debt has been gathering momentum recently. In late 2025, crypto lender Ledn received a BBB- rating from S&P Global on a $188 million asset-backed security pooling Bitcoin-backed loans.
That deal later hit turbulence in February when a sharp Bitcoin selloff triggered liquidations of roughly a quarter of the underlying loan pool. Moody’s has previously shown interest in crypto, having tested on-chain ratings with Solana in June 2025.
