Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim’s plan to invest city reserves in bitcoin is not permitted under the Vancouver Charter and B.C.’s Municipal Finance Authority Act, a staff report says.
The backgrounder released ahead of the council’s March meeting recommends closing a 2024 motion to make Vancouver a “Bitcoin-friendly city,” after staff determined the plan violated municipal investment rules built into the city’s charger. Staff wrote that it “has conclusively determined that under the Vancouver Charter, bitcoin is not a permitted investment asset for the city.”
The conclusion reflects the very restrictive framework governing how Canadian municipalities can invest public funds. Section 201 of the Vancouver Charter allows the city to invest unused 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 strengthens this 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, certificates of deposit and promissory notes, reflecting a framework built around fixed income securities and cash equivalents. Stocks, commodities and cryptocurrencies are not included.
A more specific question remains unanswered: Could Vancouver still pursue the softer branding goal embedded in the motion by accepting bitcoin for taxes or fees, provided the cryptocurrency is immediately converted to Canadian dollars.
Although the charter regulates how city funds are invested, it does not necessarily govern how payments are processed.
