Hong Kong Lawmaker Latest to Push for Strategic Bitcoin Reserve

A member of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council has called on the territory to “research and consider” including Bitcoin in strategic financial reserves.

In a tweet Sunday, Johnny Ng said that “as long as it is compliant,” it was “worth considering” including Bitcoin in a strategic financial reserve.

“The global acceptance of Bitcoin is constantly increasing, and Bitcoin is seen by the public as 'digital gold' in the context of its technology," Ng added.

He pledged to “discuss the feasibility and opportunities of including Bitcoin in financial reserves with different stakeholders in Hong Kong,” adding that he would report the situation to everyone in a timely manner.

In his tweet, Ng referenced U.S. Presidential candidate Donald Trump’s speech to the Bitcoin Conference over the weekend, in which the former President vowed to build a “strategic Bitcoin stockpile” for the United States if elected.

Shortly after Trump’s speech, U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) announced details of her own "strategic Bitcoin reserve" proposal, which would see the U.S. "establish a decentralized network of secure Bitcoin vaults operated by the United States Department of Treasury" and seek to acquire 1 million total BTC to hold.

Trump’s comments followed a similar promise by U.S. Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, who last week said he’d push for the federal government to buy Bitcoin until the nation’s BTC holdings matched its gold reserves.

Ng, a self-proclaimed Web3 advocate, serves as chair of the Hong Kong Legislative Committee’s Web3 and Virtual Assets Development Subcommittee. In his tweet Sunday, he added that the region “must accelerate the development of the Web3 ecosystem,” by attracting “globally competitive talent and capital, public chains and exchanges, enterprises and projects.”

In April this year, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) approved spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs for trading, the latter beating the U.S. to the punch by several months.

Earlier this month, Hong Kong’s Monetary Authority proposed a comprehensive regulatory framework for fiat-referenced stablecoin (FRS) issuers, following a proposal in February by the General Chamber of Commerce for the issuance of a stablecoin backed by the Chinese yuan in the region.

Edited by Stacy Elliott.