Vancouver passes a motion to become “Bitcoin-friendly” and explore its municipal use cases

The city of Vancouver has passed a motion to delve into ways of making the municipality a Bitcoin-friendly city. The motion was approved on Wednesday to explore Bitcoin’s municipality use cases, such as accepting it as a payment method or directly investing in the asset.

One of Canada’s largest cities, Vancouver, is considering exploring Bitcoin’s municipal use cases. On Wednesday, the Vancouver City Council passed a motion to make the city a Bitcoin-friendly municipality. 

Although the motion seeks to explore the regulatory acceptance of BTC, it may mean something other than the municipality accepting BTC as a payment method or directly investing in the asset anytime soon. However, it could pave the way for the municipality to accept tax payments in BTC or convert part of the city’s reserves into Bitcoin.

Mayor Ken Sim proposes to make Vancouver a Bitcoin-friendly city

Vancouver city council approves Mayor Ken Sim's motion to explore becoming a "bitcoin-friendly city," including accepting Bitcoin for taxes/fees and possibly converting part of reserves into crypto. Sim also donates $10K in Bitcoin to the city. 🚀💰

But concerns over volatility,… pic.twitter.com/6cajLVMbZg

— Crypto Spy Fox 🦊🪙 (@CryptoSpyFox) December 12, 2024

Mayor Ken Sim initiated and championed the proposal and later supported by his ABC Vancouver councilors, while two Green councilors opposed it. Ken Sim said during a phone interview that he had longed to initiate the proposal for a while but felt the public needed more time to be ready to have the conversation.

Ken Sim mentioned that he decided to be more vocal about his pro-crypto stance after seeing the recent developments in the United States and other nation-states showing signs of embracing Bitcoin’s utilities.

Sim announced the motion in late September titled “Preserving the City’s Purchasing Power Through Diversification of Financial Reserves—Becoming a Bitcoin-Friendly City.”. 

The motion states that integrating BTC into Vancouver’s finances could shield the city from the volatility, debasement, and inflationary pressures of fiat currencies and preserve its purchasing power. It also highlights that embracing Bitcoin is a pro-innovation agenda that supports emerging technologies.

Since then, Sim has been vocal about Bitcoin and its underlying technology. He called the asset the “greatest invention” in the history of mankind and stated that fiat currency would depreciate to zero. The official believes Bitcoin is undervalued and currently only worth a fraction of its future worth but emphasized that he was not in a position to give financial advice.

Ken Sim promises to donate 10,000 in Bitcoin to Vancouver

In an interview with Global News, Ken Sim said he used to be skeptical about BTC and digital currencies until he spent 10,000 hours researching the topic. He said he changed his mind, and digital assets are now part of his family’s investment portfolio. 

The mayor’s financial disclosure revealed he has investments in Coinbase Global, a publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange, and the Canadian Bitcoin exchange-traded fund Purpose BTC ETF.

Before the vote, the official promised to donate $10,000 in BTC to the city regardless of the council’s outcome. Although most of the council voted in favor of the motion, some, like Green Coun. Pete Fry expressed their criticism, citing BTC’s potential use as a money laundering tool, which is a major problem that underpins Vancouver’s drug and housing turmoil.

The West Coast Canadian city is considered one of the crypto hubs worldwide. The city claims the title of having the world’s first Bitcoin ATM, which was installed back in 2013. Vancouver also boasts housing blockchain-oriented startups such as Dapper Labs Inc.

Land a High-Paying Web3 Job in 90 Days: The Ultimate Roadmap