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 shutting down a 2024 proposal to make Vancouver a “bitcoin-friendly city” after staff determined the plan violates municipal investment rules embedded in the city’s charger. Staff wrote that they “conclusively determined that under the Vancouver Charter, bitcoin is not a permitted investment asset for the city.”
The conclusion reflects the very restrictive framework for how Canadian municipalities can invest public funds. Section 201 of the Vancouver Charter allows the City to invest available 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 corporate securities.
The law defines loanable securities as bonds, debentures, certificates of deposit and promissory notes, reflecting a framework built around fixed income and liquid assets. Stocks, commodities and cryptocurrencies are not included.
A narrower question remains unresolved: whether Vancouver could still pursue the softer branding goal embedded in the move by accepting bitcoin for taxes or fees, provided the cryptocurrency is immediately converted to Canadian dollars.
While the charter regulates how city funds are invested, it does not necessarily govern how payments are processed.
