Taiwan Lawmaker Calls for Bitcoin Reserve Funded by $602B FX Chest

Key Takeaways:

• Legislator Ko Ju-Chun presented a BPI bitcoin reserve report to Taiwan’s premier and central bank.
• Taiwan’s $602B FX reserves are over 80% in dollar assets, which BPI says creates currency exposure risk.
• No decision yet, but the move places Taiwan alongside the U.S. and Brazil in the bitcoin reserve debate.

A Direct Pitch to the Premier and the Central Bank

On April 29, 2026, Dr. Ko Ju-Chun, a member of Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan, delivered the Bitcoin Policy Institute’s (BPI) report on bitcoin reserves directly to Premier Cho Jung-tai and Central Bank of China Governor Yang Chin-long during a formal interpellation session. The report, written by Jacob Langenkamp and published in March 2026, lays out the trade, economic, and security case for holding bitcoin as a reserve asset alongside gold and foreign currency.

The proposal zeroes in on Taiwan’s enormous foreign exchange war chest. The country holds approximately $602 billion in FX reserves, with over 80% held in dollar-denominated assets. Ko Ju-Chun and the BPI argue that this concentration creates exposure to currency devaluation risk AND critically, to scenarios where Taiwan’s dollar assets could become inaccessible due to geopolitical escalation with China.

The initial allocation floated is approximately $2.5 billion in bitcoin, less than 0.5% of total reserves, a modest entry point, but a symbolically significant one.

Bitcoin as a Geopolitical Hedge

The argument Ko Ju-Chun is making is not new in structure, but it carries distinct weight in Taiwan’s context. The BPI report explicitly cites bitcoin’s fixed supply, decentralization, and resistance to seizure as attributes that make it uniquely suited to Taiwan’s security situation (since it cannot be frozen by a foreign government or cut off through a SWIFT-style financial blockade).

The framing also mirrors arguments now circulating across multiple jurisdictions. In the U.S., speculation surrounding a reserve’s creation has extended to four nations, with relevant legislation advancing in at least 15 U.S. states. Brazil has also reintroduced legislation that would allow up to 1 million BTC in national reserves.

What sets Taiwan’s move apart is the delivery, as Ko Ju-Chun did not simply float the idea publicly; he handed the BPI report directly to the two people most responsible for Taiwan’s monetary policy, creating a formal record within the legislative process. Whether Taipei acts or not on this, the conversation has now entered the room.