Taiwanese Legislator Ko Ju-Chun: 2026 Could Mark Historic Shift Toward Bitcoin as Reserve Asset

It was a quiet disclosure, almost bureaucratic in nature. A Taiwanese lawmaker submits a query to the Ministry of Justice asking a simple question: does the government hold any Bitcoin? The answer — 210 BTC — was small by any measure. But the fact that the question was asked, answered, and made public at all says something significant about how far the conversation has moved in Taiwan.

The disclosure came via legislator Ko Ju-Chun, a member of the Kuomintang party who has made Bitcoin advocacy something of a personal mission inside Taiwan's parliament. Ko filed the request to the Ministry of Justice last December, and the answer confirmed what many in the Bitcoin community had suspected: Taiwan, like many governments, is sitting on some Bitcoin.

Ko has been among the most vocal proponents of Bitcoin in Taiwan's Legislative Yuan, pushing the government to think seriously about digital assets as part of the country's long-term financial strategy — pointing to the New Taiwan Dollar's volatility, over-reliance on US dollar-denominated assets, and the need for reserve diversification that doesn't depend on any single sovereign counterparty. His pressure eventually yielded a notable result: Taiwan's Central Bank agreed to study the matter.

The study recommended against establishing a Bitcoin reserve. That outcome will surprise no one familiar with how central banks tend to approach unconventional assets. But buried in the report was something harder to dismiss.

In a comment to BitcoinTreasuries.net, Ko reflected on what the central bank's report

"I believe the report itself marks meaningful progress," he said. "For the first time, a Central Bank report in Taiwan explicitly noted in a constructive way that a country — namely the Czech Republic — has considered or planned Bitcoin purchases. In the past, Taiwan's internal policy discussions were generally far more conservative, and many official documents tended to dismiss Bitcoin altogether."

He continued: "The fact that a more factual and less dismissive discussion has now appeared in an official Central Bank report is, in my view, an important step forward."

On the legislative front, Ko told BitcoinTreasuries.net he believes 2026 could be a landmark year. "There is a real opportunity for this to become the first year Taiwan formally establishes a dedicated Virtual Asset Service Act, or VASP law," he said. "Although the bill has not yet entered formal review, there is a meaningful chance it will reach the Legislative Yuan this year."

The part he's watching most closely involves confiscated assets. Taiwan has been accumulating seized cryptocurrency through law enforcement activity for years, and Ko wants the VASP law to address what happens to it. "I hope that, during the legislative process, we will be able to introduce either a dedicated chapter or specific provisions related to Bitcoin, or to the treatment of confiscated virtual assets," he continued. "Such provisions could help create a legal pathway that would directly or indirectly make a Bitcoin reserve framework in Taiwan possible sooner."

As for support among his fellow legislators, Ko is measured. "I would say support is still emerging, but the conversation is becoming more serious," he said. "There remains understandable caution within government, especially where reserve policy, central banking, and financial stability are concerned. At the same time, compared with the past, there is now greater willingness to discuss Bitcoin not as a fringe topic, but as an issue involving technology, finance, resilience, and long-term strategic planning. I believe the window for a more mature policy debate is opening."

The sharpest edge of Ko's argument is geopolitical. "In reality, it is already close to an established fact that China holds a significant amount of Bitcoin, whether directly or indirectly," he told BitcoinTreasuries.net. "Yet the Taiwanese government has not responded to this reality in a sufficiently proactive or constructive way." He continued: "If a major geopolitical actor has already accumulated substantial Bitcoin exposure while Taiwan remains slow to evaluate the issue strategically, that should serve as a wake-up call. At a minimum, it should push Taiwan to examine Bitcoin more seriously as part of national resilience, reserve strategy, and long-term security planning."

Taiwan currently holds at least 210 BTC in government custody. The real number is likely higher — seized assets from multiple ongoing and concluded cases have yet to be fully inventoried. The central bank has gone from dismissing Bitcoin to studying it. A VASP law that could create the legal architecture for a reserve framework is edging toward the legislature's agenda. None of this is a reserve. But for a country that not long ago treated Bitcoin as a topic unworthy of serious institutional attention, the direction of travel is hard to miss.

Source: Ko Ju-Chun comments provided to BitcoinTreasuries.net. Central Bank study referenced via public parliamentary record.