Vancouver to Become a Bitcoin-Friendly City
Date: 2024-11-28 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: IN WORLD
At a city council meeting on November 26, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim announced his intention to make the major Western Canadian city a place where Bitcoin will be integrated into the economy and investment strategy.
While the mayor has not yet proposed creating reserves in Bitcoin, as some countries have done, he is considering adding the cryptocurrency to Vancouver’s asset portfolio. Such an initiative involves using Bitcoin as a diversified financial instrument, allowing the city to benefit from changes in the cryptocurrency market.
The mayor emphasized that one of the goals of this strategy is to protect the city’s purchasing power through diversification of financial resources. Sim called this approach an important step in transforming Vancouver into a “Bitcoin-friendly city.”
The idea of incorporating Bitcoin into investment strategies is not new. A number of companies, including pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and large asset managers, have already integrated cryptocurrency into their portfolios. In addition, some political figures are using Bitcoin to support their election campaigns.
For example, in the US, the volume of investments in Bitcoin ETFs has already reached $13 billion. One of the first examples of this approach is the Wisconsin Investment Board, which included the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) developed by BlackRock in its portfolio.
Outside of North America, Japan has shown similar interest. Earlier this year, the world's largest pension fund, the Government Pension Investment Fund of Japan (GPIF), expressed its intention to add Bitcoin to its assets. The fund manages capital worth about 224 trillion yen, which is equivalent to $1.4 trillion, and its decision is considered a positive signal for the market.
The world's largest financial companies, such as Goldman Sachs, are also actively investing in cryptocurrency. Their portfolio includes, for example, IBIT and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC), with assets of $461 million and $71 million, respectively.
Thus, Ken Sim’s initiative shows that Vancouver is striving to be at the forefront of economic innovation, offering residents and businesses new opportunities related to cryptocurrencies.
