Vancouver City Staff Moves to Kill Bitcoin Reserve Plan Over Legal Barriers

TLDR:

• Vancouver city staff found Bitcoin is not an allowable investment asset under the Vancouver Charter.
• Mayor Ken Sim’s November 2024 motion sought to protect city reserves from inflation using Bitcoin funds.
• British Columbia’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs cited undue risk in barring local governments from holding crypto.
• Bitcoin dropped nearly 50% from its all-time high of $126,000, reinforcing provincial caution over crypto holdings.

Vancouver city staff has recommended that the city council rescind a motion to establish a Bitcoin reserve. A legal review concluded that cryptocurrency does not qualify as an allowable investment asset under provincial law.

Vancouver Charter Bars Bitcoin as a Reserve Asset

A formal report was recently submitted to the Vancouver City Council by city staff. The document outlined a clear recommendation to scrap the reserve motion entirely.

Staff determined that the Vancouver Charter does not permit Bitcoin as an investment vehicle for the city. The Charter is the provincial statute governing city operations in British Columbia.

The report was direct in its conclusion. “Staff has conclusively determined that under the Vancouver Charter, Bitcoin is not an allowable investment asset for the City, and therefore recommends that this work be concluded,” the document stated.

Beyond the legal issue, staff also pointed to the need to reprioritize internal resources. Coordination with other ongoing city programs further supported the recommendation to end this work.

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs of British Columbia had previously addressed this matter directly. The ministry confirmed that local governments across the province are barred from holding cryptocurrency in reserve.

Officials cited exposure to undue risk as the core concern behind this restriction. That position from the province aligned closely with the findings in the staff report.

The Vancouver City Council had formally approved the motion in December 2024. Staff received direction to assess the proposal’s feasibility and return with findings by Q1 2025.

Despite the deadline passing, no report was publicly released until earlier this week. The delay raised questions about the transparency of the review process.

Mayor’s Bitcoin Initiative Faces Legal and Financial Setbacks

The motion was originally brought forward in November 2024 by Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim. It aimed to diversify the city’s financial reserves and shield its purchasing power from inflation.

Sim openly called Bitcoin “the greatest invention in human history” while presenting the proposal. That statement drew both widespread attention and scrutiny from various observers at the time.

As part of the broader initiative, Sim pledged to personally donate $10,000 worth of Bitcoin to the city. The proposal also sought to allocate a portion of municipal funds directly into the cryptocurrency.

The stated purpose was to protect the city’s finances against inflation and long-term market volatility. However, those ambitions have now been formally halted by legal constraints.

Bitcoin’s recent price history added another layer of concern to this debate. Since late 2024, the cryptocurrency reached an all-time high exceeding $126,000 before falling sharply.

It declined nearly 50%, dropping to lows near $63,000 over roughly four months. That level of volatility strengthened the provincial government’s caution about municipal crypto holdings.

At the time of reporting, Bitcoin was trading at approximately $70,534. The sharp price movements since late 2024 reinforced concerns from both city staff and provincial authorities.

The staff report, backed by the Vancouver Charter, appears to mark the end of the city’s crypto reserve ambitions.

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