Taiwan Mulls Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Amid Global Uncertainty

Taiwan Contemplates a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve

Taiwan is preparing to issue a formal report on its Bitcoin holdings, signaling that officials are weighing whether the country should follow the United States in creating a national Bitcoin reserve. Zhuo Rongtai, the Premier of the Republic of China (Taiwan), stated that the country is preparing a report to assess the total amount of Bitcoin (BTC) confiscated by domestic agencies. The report is expected to be released before the end of the year, according to Rongtai's statements during the Legislative Yuan’s general fiscal inquiry meeting with the Finance Committee on Tuesday. When questioned about the fate of the confiscated Bitcoin, legislator Ge Rujun suggested that the Taiwanese government should “hold it unchanged” pending a decision on whether to liquidate the assets or integrate them into a strategic reserve, as reported by local media outlet Blocktempo. Rongtai’s forthcoming report will also delineate the “pros and cons” of establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve, marking the first instance of Taiwanese officials publicly considering BTC as a reserve asset. The premier’s commitment to “study” Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset and to draft more Bitcoin-friendly regulations within the next six months represents a “breakthrough” for the country, according to Ko Ju-Chun, a lawmaker at Taiwan’s legislative agency, the Legislative Yuan, in a Tuesday X post.

Growing Governmental Interest in Bitcoin

Governmental interest in Bitcoin began to surge following March 7, when U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order outlining a plan to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, initially utilizing cryptocurrency forfeited in government criminal cases, as reported by Cointelegraph. Joe Burnett, head of market research at Unchained, remarked at the time that the Bitcoin reserve marked the “first real step toward integrating Bitcoin into the fabric of global finance, acknowledging its role as a foundational asset for a more stable and sound monetary system.”

Taiwanese Legislators Advocate for Bitcoin Reserve to Hedge Against Global Uncertainty

While Taiwan has not yet taken any formal action, legislators have previously advocated for the creation of a Bitcoin reserve. In May, Ju-Chun urged the government to consider adding Bitcoin to its national reserve, citing its potential to serve as a hedge amidst global economic uncertainty, during a speech to the Taiwanese government at the National Conference on May 9. The lawmaker had previously proposed a maximum allocation of 5% of Taiwan’s $50 billion reserve. Taiwan has been exploring more crypto-friendly regulations to encourage institutional cryptocurrency adoption. In October 2024, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) of Taiwan announced the launch of a trial program for crypto custody services for financial institutions.