Vancouver mayor’s bitcoin investment proposal blocked by city, provincial law
Vancouver mayor’s bitcoin investment proposal blocked by city, provincial law
Officials say the Vancouver Charter limits city reserves to government debt, bank instruments and other traditional assets.
What to know:
- Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim’s proposal to invest city reserves in bitcoin is not allowed under the city’s charter and British Columbia’s Municipal Finance Authority Act, according to a staff report.
- Staff concluded that bitcoin is not an eligible investment asset for the city, which is restricted to conservative instruments such as government and municipal securities, bank deposits and highly rated commercial paper.
- The report leaves open the possibility that Vancouver could accept bitcoin for taxes or fees if payments are immediately converted into Canadian dollars.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim’s plan to invest city reserves in bitcoin is not permitted under the Vancouver Charter and British Columbia’s Municipal Finance Authority Act, a staff report says.
The briefing released ahead of a March council meeting recommends closing a 2024 motion to make Vancouver a “bitcoin-friendly city,” after staff determined the plan violates municipal investment rules embedded in the city’s charger. Staff wrote they “conclusively determined that under the Vancouver Charter, bitcoin is not an allowable investment asset for the City.”
The conclusion reflects the highly restrictive framework governing how Canadian municipalities can invest public funds. Section 201 of the Vancouver Charter allows the city to invest idle funds only in a narrow set of instruments, such as federal or provincial government securities, government-guaranteed bonds, municipal debt, bank-guaranteed investments, credit union deposits and certain pooled investment vehicles.
British Columbia’s Municipal Finance Authority Act reinforces the restriction.
Municipal investment pools are limited to conservative assets such as government bonds, municipal securities, bank deposits and highly rated commercial paper.
The law defines eligible securities as bonds, debentures, deposit certificates and promissory notes, reflecting a framework built around fixed income and cash equivalents. Stocks, commodities and cryptocurrencies are not included.
A narrower question remains unresolved: whether Vancouver could still pursue the softer branding goal embedded in the motion by accepting bitcoin for taxes or fees, provided the cryptocurrency is immediately converted into Canadian dollars.
While the charter regulates how city funds are invested, it does not necessarily govern how payments are processed.
Higit pang Para sa Iyo
Prediction market boom spurs new VC fund backed by Polymarket, Kalshi CEOs
The fund, called 5c(c) Capital, is aiming to raise $35 million to fund startups tied to the rapid growth of event-based trading markets.
Ano ang dapat malaman:
- A new venture capital firm, 5c(c) Capital, is launching to invest specifically in companies built around prediction markets, with backing from the CEOs of Polymarket and Kalshi.
- The fund aims to raise up to $35 million and back about 20 early-stage startups over two years, focusing on infrastructure and services such as data tools, liquidity provision and compliance systems rather than exchanges alone.
- The launch comes amid rapid growth in prediction markets, with rising trading volumes, new users and interest from major crypto and retail trading platforms, and has attracted more than 20 early investors including a Millennium Management portfolio manager and other prediction market founders.
Prediction market boom spurs new VC fund backed by Polymarket, Kalshi CEOs
BlackRock is betting billions that tokenized funds will do for Wall Street what the internet did to mail
Strategy tops up capital-raising plans, bringing potential bitcoin buying power back to $42 billion
Pharmaceutical firm pivots to stablecoins, holds nearly 9% of SKY’s supply
Backpack launches BP token on Solana with 25% airdrop, no insider allocation
CoinDesk 20 performance update: Bitcoin Cash (BCH) gains 2.3%, leading index higher
Bitcoin’s wild roller coaster ride leaves leveraged traders with $415 million in liquidations
Tom Lee’s Bitmine extends buying streak with $138 million ETH purchase, betting on crypto slump ending
Bitcoin surges above $71,000 as Trump postpones Iran strikes for 5 days
Strategy returns to ‘small’ bitcoin purchases, adding $76.6 million in BTC last week
Polymarket traders bet on Iran ceasefire even as oil shock concerns persist
Bitcoin clings to monthly gains, historic losing streak still in play
!–>!–>!–>!–>!–>!–>!–>
Read More
Be the first to write a comment.
