Taiwan Considers Bitcoin Reserve Debate After Legislative Presentation
At Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan on April 29, a policy discussion that might have once seemed fringe was given formal institutional visibility when Legislator Dr. Ko Ju-Chun presented a report advocating for the inclusion of Bitcoin in Taiwan’s national reserve strategy. The session took place during a formal interpellation and included direct engagement with Premier Cho Jung-tai and the governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan), Yang Chin-long. The report, produced by the Bitcoin Policy Institute, was not simply tabled as an academic exercise but actively introduced into executive-level consideration, which is part of what made the moment feel unusually weighty in tone.
The proposal itself centers on the argument that Taiwan’s large foreign exchange reserves, estimated at around $602 billion, are heavily concentrated in U.S. dollar-denominated assets. According to the report authored by BPI Fellow Jacob Langenkamp, this concentration could expose Taiwan to structural vulnerabilities tied to global monetary shifts and geopolitical pressure. The document frames Bitcoin as a potential supplementary reserve asset that might offer diversification benefits, especially in extreme scenarios where traditional reserve assets face restrictions or physical limitations. It even leans into a more security-oriented argument, suggesting that Bitcoin’s digital and decentralized nature could provide resilience in crisis conditions where asset mobility becomes constrained.
During the session, Dr. Ko also pushed the conversation further by requesting that Taiwan’s central bank produce a follow-up report within one month focusing on stablecoins and broader digital asset reserve frameworks. That detail is important because it signals the discussion is not limited to Bitcoin in isolation, but part of a wider inquiry into how digital assets might interact with sovereign reserve management. There is also historical context here, as Taiwan’s central bank had already examined Bitcoin in late 2025 and concluded it was not suitable for reserves at that time, mainly citing volatility, liquidity concerns, and custody risks. Still, it had also reportedly allowed limited experimentation using seized Bitcoin through a sandbox approach, which suggests the door has not been fully closed.
The Bitcoin Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research organization, has described the engagement as evidence that its work is reaching higher levels of policymaking attention internationally. Sam Lyman, who leads research there, characterized the legislative presentation as a sign that Taiwan is taking the idea seriously enough to evaluate it in formal government settings. In parallel, Jacob Langenkamp argued that Taiwan’s geopolitical position makes reserve diversification discussions more urgent than in many other economies, particularly in scenarios involving trade disruption or financial constraints.
Ko Ju-Chun, who also holds roles connected to U.S.-Taiwan relations and emerging technology initiatives, had previously raised similar points with the central bank governor in earlier sessions, meaning this latest presentation was less an isolated event and more a continuation of an ongoing policy thread. The inclusion of both the executive branch leadership and the central bank in the same formal exchange gives the discussion a level of institutional visibility that, even if not immediately policy-shifting, clearly elevates it beyond speculative commentary.
The video of the interpellation, including the segment where the report is presented, is publicly available online, and while it doesn’t resolve anything on its own, it does capture a moment where digital asset policy is being actively pulled into mainstream sovereign reserve debate. Whether this leads to actual reserve allocation changes or remains in the realm of exploratory policy research is still open, but the conversation itself is now firmly inside Taiwan’s official policymaking channels rather than outside them.