The Congress of the Philippines is weighing a connection that could spot the country’s cardinal slope found a strategical reserve of 10,000 Bitcoin, positioning the state among the archetypal successful Southeast Asia to follow Bitcoin arsenic a strategical asset.
A House of Representatives measure filed by Camarines Sur Representative Migz Villafuerte successful June made headlines connected Thursday, arsenic it aims to mandate the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the country’s cardinal bank, to acquisition 2,000 Bitcoin (BTC) annually implicit a five-year period.
The bill, called the “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act,” aims to mandate the BSP to bargain 10,000 Bitcoin worthy $1.1 cardinal astatine existent marketplace prices. The measure states that the plus would beryllium locked successful a spot for astatine slightest 20 years. This would mean that the coins could not beryllium sold, swapped oregon disposed of, but for erstwhile retiring authorities debt.
“This practice deems it captious that the Philippines stockpile strategical assets specified arsenic BTC to service important nationalist interests specified arsenic providing fiscal stability, among others,” Villafuerte wrote, adding that it’s imperative for Congress to constitute caller laws aimed astatine diversifying the country’s assets to guarantee fiscal security.
Philippine measure proposes “Bitcoin Purchase Program”
The lawmaker described Bitcoin arsenic integer gold, citing its yearly maturation complaint of 40% implicit the past 5 years and its caller all-time highs.
He said the Philippines indispensable “cash in” connected the expanding relation of crypto successful planetary markets, pointing toward El Salvador and different nations already exploring and implementing Bitcoin reserve strategies.
The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act would mandate that the cardinal slope instrumentality a Bitcoin Purchase Program.
It would mandate the BSP to clasp the plus for a minimum of 20 years earlier deciding whether to support holding oregon merchantability it.
It would besides necessitate the cardinal slope to person a proof-of-reserves system. This would compel the cardinal slope politician to supply publically disposable quarterly reports connected the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve that see accusation connected holdings, transactions and power of backstage keys.
Related: Philippines SEC cracks down connected unregistered crypto exchanges
The Philippines tin surpass El Salvador’s holdings with 10,000 Bitcoin
If approved, the measure could propulsion the Philippines supra El Salvador and adjacent Bhutan successful Bitcoin holdings. El Salvador, a state that buys Bitcoin daily, has a full of 6,276 BTC (about $700 million), according to its Bitcoin Office.
Meanwhile, the Royal Government of Bhutan has 10,565 Bitcoin, worthy astir $1.2 billion, according to Arkham Intelligence data.
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