Taiwanese legislator Ko Ju-Chun has intensified his push for the government to evaluate Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset, asking financial authorities to study whether a limited allocation could strengthen the country’s financial resilience. During an April 29 Legislative Yuan interpellation, Ko delivered research on a potential Bitcoin reserve to Premier Cho Jung-tai and Central Bank Governor Yang Chin-long and requested further analysis of both Bitcoin and stablecoin reserves. The initiative represents a policy proposal for study, not an approved government plan to purchase Bitcoin.
Ko’s broader Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Initiative argues that Taiwan should consider digital assets as an additional diversification tool alongside conventional reserve holdings. He has advocated evaluating allocations based on a fraction of GDP or foreign exchange reserves, while previously floating a maximum 5% allocation from a separate $50 billion reserve pool. His case centers on diversification and access to assets that could remain transferable during severe financial or geopolitical disruption, rather than replacing Taiwan’s existing reserve structure.
Taiwan’s Reserve Scale Puts the Proposal in Perspective
Taiwan held about $602.49 billion in foreign exchange reserves at the end of April 2026, close to the $602 billion figure cited when Ko presented the reserve study. The latest figures from the Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) show reserves subsequently stood at $594.27 billion at the end of July, underscoring why even a small percentage allocation would represent a substantial sovereign position.
Ko has framed Bitcoin as a possible hedge against concentration in traditional reserve assets, U.S. dollar purchasing-power risk and regional uncertainty. Those arguments remain the legislator’s policy case rather than conclusions endorsed by Taiwan’s central bank. His initiative page notes that the central bank had already produced an assessment of Bitcoin as a reserve asset in late 2025, while Ko continued pressing officials to revisit the issue as international policy toward digital assets evolved.
The April discussion also broadened the question beyond Bitcoin. Ko asked the central bank to examine whether stablecoins could play a limited reserve role, particularly where faster transferability might be useful under extreme conditions. The request reflects an effort to examine digital assets as part of sovereign liquidity planning, but it does not create authority for the central bank to acquire them. A policy change would still require decisions by Taiwan’s financial authorities and potentially additional legal or regulatory steps.
Central Bank Review Does Not Equal Adoption
Taiwan already has some government-controlled Bitcoin, but through a different channel. Ko’s office says judicial authorities had accumulated more than 210 BTC from confiscations as of October 31, 2025. Those seized assets are not equivalent to Bitcoin purchased or formally designated as part of Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves, making the distinction important when assessing the country’s actual sovereign exposure.
Ko has also argued for retaining confiscated Bitcoin while authorities develop a clearer framework for digital assets. That approach would offer policymakers a way to study custody and reserve-management questions without immediately committing foreign exchange reserves to new purchases. For now, Taiwan’s Bitcoin reserve debate remains centered on assessment, asset management and policy design rather than implementation.
The proposal nevertheless moves the issue further into Taiwan’s formal financial-policy debate. Whether Bitcoin eventually becomes a reserve asset will depend on the central bank’s assessment of volatility, liquidity, custody and reserve-management requirements, as well as broader political support for changing how Taiwan manages national financial buffers.