Vancouver Moves to Close Bitcoin Reserve Proposal After Legal Review
Vancouver staff have recommended closing an initiative to explore making the city “Bitcoin-friendly” after determining that municipal regulations prohibit holding Bitcoin as a reserve asset. The Vancouver Charter and provincial laws do not permit municipalities to invest financial reserves in cryptocurrency, restricting the city’s ability to pursue such proposals and aiming to protect public funds from undue risk. The original motion, introduced by Mayor Ken Sim, had called for accepting taxes and fees in crypto and converting part of city reserves into Bitcoin, but faced legal barriers from the outset. Staff concluded that there is no allowable path under current rules and advised reprioritization of municipal efforts. Crypto industry analysts note that municipal treasuries are designed for capital preservation, precluding risky assets like Bitcoin until legal and accounting standards change. Similar proposals in other cities are expected to encounter the same legal hurdles and are likely to stall unless political or branding interests override regulatory limitations. Crypto remains much more common as an investment than a payment method, with governments typically lagging behind the private sector in payment innovation.
