Vancouver City Council in Canada Passes Motion to Become a “Bitcoin Friendly City”

On Wednesday, Vancouver City Council in Canada passed its motion to become a "Bitcoin-friendly city" and explore its potential municipal uses. "I've wanted to do this for a while, but I don't think the public is ready to have a conversation," Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said in a phone interview on Tuesday before the council vote. It decided to speak out more for cryptocurrencies because "all of a sudden, with what's happening in the United States, a lot of other nation-states and provinces and states are saying they're going to do this, too," Sim said. "We want to be ahead of the curve." ” Since announcing the motion in late November, Sim has been a big believer in Bitcoin, calling it “the greatest invention in human history” and saying that traditional fiat currencies “will go to zero.” He believes Bitcoin “may” be worth only a fraction of its future value, but he stressed that he is not qualified to provide investment advice. (Bloomberg) Previously, Ken Sim, who has served as Mayor of Vancouver since 2022, announced that the City of Vancouver, Canada, plans to add Bitcoin to its balance sheet as part of its investment diversification efforts. At the Vancouver City Council meeting held on November 26, Mayor Sim submitted a notice of motion, scheduled to be presented on December 11, entitled “Maintaining the Purchasing Power of the City through Diversification of Financial Resources: Becoming a Bitcoin-Friendly City.” As of November 27, the motion does not appear to have been published on the city government’s website, and the Vancouver Mayor’s Office declined to comment. It is unclear whether the Vancouver Mayor’s motion is a response to the local and federal governments in the United States considering legislation to establish Bitcoin reserves. 2024 After the 2016 election, lawmakers in both the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate proposed plans to have the government hold Bitcoin as a reserve asset.