Vancouver’s city council greenlights exploring Bitcoin in municipal finance

Canadian city Vancouver officially approved a motion  to consider becoming a bitcoin-friendly city during a council meeting on Tuesday.

The motion, submitted by city’s Mayor Ken Sim last month, proposed integrating bitcoin into Vancouver’s financial strategies, such as accepting taxes and fees in bitcoin, and converting a portion of the city’s financial reserves into bitcoin.

The motion explained that having a portion of financial reserves in bitcoin will help preserve Vancouver’s purchasing power against the volatility, debasement and inflationary pressures of traditional currencies.

“Diversifying the City of Vancouver's financial reserves and payment options to include Bitcoin would not only enhance the resilience of our City’s financial portfolio, it would ultimately benefit the city’s taxpayers,” the motion said.

The motion also directed the city staff to assess and report back to the council by the end of Q1 2025 on the feasibility, risks and potential benefits of the bitcoin strategy.

Mayor Sim previously touted bitcoin as “the greatest invention in human history” during a video interview with the Coin Stories podcast .

Vancouver city council's approval of the bitcoin strategy follows on the heels of pro-crypto candidate Donald Trump’s reelection as U.S. President, which has prompted a significant amount of positivity in crypto markets with expectations of more crypto-friendly regulations.

The price of bitcoin rose 4.44% in the past 24 hours, returning to six-figure prices at $100,791 as of 8 p.m. EST.