Taiwan lawmaker urges Bitcoin reserves; premier orders review

Premier Cho Jung-tai directed agencies to deliver an updated policy review and a full inventory of government-held Bitcoin by year-end.

Ge contended that current policy relies on outdated assumptions and urged completion of an inventory of Bitcoin seized in criminal cases to decide whether to keep or sell those assets. “Virtual assets are no longer just speculative commodities, but a new battleground for national security and financial sovereignty,” Ge stated.

In an exchange with Central Bank Governor Yang Chin-long, who remarked that “2030 is still far,” Ge asked, “Given the global changes, can Taiwan wait until 2030?” Ge characterized authorities as “overly cautious, which is tantamount to laziness,” and suggested that if the treasury is not short of funds, seized virtual currencies could be retained for now.

Taiwan’s foreign-exchange reserves were about $600 billion at the end of October, based on central bank data, with more than 80% reportedly invested in U.S. Treasury bonds. A September projection from Deutsche Bank Research forecast room for both gold and Bitcoin to appear on central bank balance sheets by 2030, a timeline that has framed legislative debate in Taipei.

Local observers link the discussion to Taiwan’s long-term economic and technology strategy. Bonnie Chang, host of the Chinese-language channel Bonnie Blockchain, described a shift in focus “from hardware to software, AI, and digital financial infrastructure.” She added, “Taiwan is effectively long the U.S. dollar through its reserve holdings, and long China’s economic cycle through trade and supply-chain reliance,” calling it a concentration risk given the island’s geopolitical setting. Chang noted that talk of crypto in Taiwan tends to trigger strong feelings, with many people recalling scams and high-profile fraud cases, and emphasized the need for more financial education.

With the year-end deadline, authorities are set to catalog seized Bitcoin held by law enforcement and update the assessment of whether and how Bitcoin might fit within Taiwan’s reserves. The central bank and cabinet have not disclosed the size of confiscated holdings or potential allocation frameworks, and no plan has been announced to buy additional Bitcoin beyond any assets already in custody.

As we reported earlier, two Sweden Democrats lawmakers, Dennis Dioukarev and David Perez, filed Motion 2025/26:793 on Oct. 1 seeking a study on a strategic Bitcoin reserve. Their plan would transfer confiscated bitcoins to the Riksbank or another authority to seed reserves without budget funding and asked to keep current legal tender rules and to refrain from introducing a CBDC. In January 2025, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde opposed holding Bitcoin as official reserves.