The city may also explore options to allow Bitcoin to be accepted as a payment method in future
The city council of Vancouver, Canada, has officially green-lit a motion to explore holding Bitcoin (BTC-USD) as a government financial reserve asset.
An X post from the Vancouver City Clerk on Wednesday announced the approval of “motion 3”, titled “Preserving of the City’s Purchasing Power Through Diversification of Financial Reserves – Becoming A Bitcoin Friendly City”.
#VanCityCouncil approves motion 3. Preserving of the City’s Purchasing Power Through Diversification of Financial Reserves – Becoming A Bitcoin Friendly City.
— Vancouver City Clerk (@VanCityClerk) December 11, 2024
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim prepared the pro-Bitcoin motion, which calls for “diversifying the City of Vancouver’s financial reserves”.
“It would be irresponsible for the City of Vancouver to not look at the merits of adding bitcoin to the City’s strategic assets to preserve the City’s financial stability,” the motion reads.
The motion also seeks to explore the feasibility of implementing a “bitcoin-friendly city” strategy for Vancouver by the end of 2025’s first quarter.
This isn’t Vancouver’s first attention-grabbing crypto moment. In 2023, the world’s first Bitcoin ATM was installed in a Vancouver-based coffee shop.
However, in 2019, Kennedy Stewart, Vancouver’s mayor at the time, sought to ban cryptocurrency ATMs in the city. The Vancouver Police Department, in support of Stewart’s proposed ban, called the Bitcoin ATMs in the city “an ideal money-laundering vehicle”.
Bitcoin ATMs allow the user to transfer, sell or buy Bitcoin.
Analysis: The start of a global movement?
Just as Vancouver pioneered Bitcoin ATMs more than a decade ago, one might wonder whether the city might kick off a global movement as it considers Bitcoin as a reserve asset.
This isn’t necessarily a new idea, though. Throughout 2024, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to build a strategic national cryptocurrency stockpile.
“If I am elected, it will be the policy of my administration, United States of America, to keep 100% of all the bitcoin the U.S. government currently holds or acquires into the future,” Trump declared on the campaign trail earlier this year.
Besides, after implementing strategic purchases, the government of El Salvador already has over $500 million in Bitcoin holdings. In addition, the Royal Government of Bhutan recently held more than $1.1 billion worth of Bitcoin.
Still, the current Vancouver mayor’s pro-crypto push could at least set a precedent among Canadian regions. It’s another piece of the puzzle as more governments and central banks explore the exciting but often misunderstood world of decentralized digital assets.
