Taiwan’s central bank has reportedly agreed to study Bitcoin as a strategic reserve, as well as draft pro-Bitcoin regulations and create a BTC treasury using the seized BTC.
Summary
- Taiwanese lawmaker Dr. Ko Ju-chun announced that the Executive Yuan and central bank will study the possibility of adding Bitcoin to Taiwan’s national strategic reserves, which could make it the first country in Southeast Asia to hold BTC.
- The government plans to develop Bitcoin-friendly regulations within six months and launch a BTC cash pilot project, starting with inventorying seized Bitcoins, currently valued at around $300 million.
In a recent article, Taiwanese lawmaker Dr. Ko Ju-chun announced that the Executive Yuan and its central bank have agreed to begin exploring the possibility of adding Bitcoin to its national strategic reserves. If approved, Taiwan could become one of the first Asian countries to hold or test BTC as a strategic reserve.
The pro-BTC initiative is led by Ko and supported by BTC technology company JAN3. The company is focused on expanding global access to BTC and other related Layer2 technologies. Ko made special mention of JAN3 CEO Samson Mow in his post.
“Calling on the Bitcoin community to show support and help Taiwan become Asia’s BTC hub,” Ko wrote in a translated post.
Currently, Taiwan’s existing reserves are approximately 432 tons of gold and $577 billion in foreign exchange. About 92% of its reserves are invested in US Treasuries, indicating the country’s overdependence on the US dollar.
Additionally, Ko says the government plans to start drafting “BTC-friendly rules” within the next six months. The Executive Yuan also committed to launching a pilot project on BTC Treasury holdings (BTC). Like the United States’ strategic reserve strategy, the central bank will begin to take inventory of seized BTC awaiting auction.
By 2024, Taiwanese prosecutors would have seized approximately $146 million worth of BTC. Given the increase in the asset’s value since then, it is estimated that the government now holds a trove of BTC worth almost $300 million.
Last May, Ko had already pushed for the inclusion of BTC in Taiwan’s national reserves. At the time, he suggested allocating a small portion of the country’s reserve assets to BTC in order to protect against global economic volatility and geopolitical risks.
Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset in Asia
Currently, based on current data, only two Asian governments hold BTC: China and North Korea. China holds around 190,000 BTC, which is worth around $19.5 billion at current market prices.
Meanwhile, North Korea has a modest hoard of around 804 BTC, which is worth at least $83 million. The DPRK’s BTC reserve is equivalent to approximately 0.004% of the total BTC supply.
If the Taiwanese government agrees to create a BTC treasury, it will become the first country in Southeast Asia to hold BTC.
Last August, Indonesia expressed interest in adopting BTC as a national strategic reserve asset. Indonesian Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka summoned local crypto advocacy group Bitcoin Indonesia to discuss a national BTC strategy.
