Vancouver officials have recommended closing a council motion that explored making the city “Bitcoin-friendly” after determining municipal law prevents Bitcoin from being held in city reserves.
City staff concluded that the Vancouver Charter does not permit Bitcoin as an allowable investment asset, effectively blocking the proposal despite earlier political interest in studying cryptocurrency use.
“I already thought it was dead in the water,”
Said Vancouver councillor Pete Fry, adding:
“It was probably good closure to have it mentioned in here, but I don't even know that it was entirely necessary.”
The proposal originated from a late-2024 directive by Mayor Ken Sim asking staff to study whether Vancouver could accept taxes and fees in crypto or convert part of its financial reserves into Bitcoin.
“The legal and treasury-related barriers were reportedly already understood from the outset, so the decision to end the process does not come as a real surprise,”
Said Gate chief business officer, Kevin Lee.
British Columbia’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs previously said provincial rules prevent municipalities from holding reserves in crypto because legislation is intended to ensure local government funds are not exposed to undue risk.
“Demand for Bitcoin isn’t the constraint, public balance sheet mandates are,”
Said Zeus Research analyst Dominick John, who added that municipal treasuries prioritise capital preservation, keeping assets like Bitcoin outside their reserve toolkit.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin price was $71,063.29.