China Working on Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in Silence
11 Mar, 2025 ● Crypto News
As the United States moves forward with its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, speculation is growing over whether China will respond with its own national crypto strategy.
On March 7, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” and a “Digital Asset Stockpile”, which will initially be funded using Bitcoin and other digital assets seized in government criminal cases.
With the US government embracing Bitcoin, there are questions about whether China will take action to avoid falling behind.
On March 3, Bitcoin advocate David Bailey, who played a role in influencing Trump’s stance on BTC, claimed that China may already be working on a strategic response to the US executive order.
Bailey stated that China has reportedly held closed-door meetings on Bitcoin since the 2024 US elections, though no official confirmation has been made.
If China adopts a Bitcoin reserve strategy, its holdings could be comparable to those of the United States, which currently possesses 198,109 BTC valued at over $17 billion.
Additionally, White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks has confirmed that the US will not sell Bitcoin from its reserve and instead treat it as a long-term store of value.
He also mentioned that the government is exploring “budget-neutral strategies” to acquire more BTC.
In 2020, Chinese authorities seized nearly 195,000 BTC from the PlusToken Ponzi scheme.
A ruling from the Yancheng Intermediate People’s Court indicated that proceeds from the confiscated crypto assets were forfeited to the national treasury.
On Jan. 23, CryptoQuant founder and CEO Ki Young Ju speculated that China may have already sold its Bitcoin holdings.
He expressed skepticism that the country would hold “censorship-resistant money”, though he emphasized that this was his personal opinion.
Ju explained that the Chinese Communist Party transferred the seized BTC to the national treasury but did not specify whether the government had sold the assets.
If China still holds these reserves and follows a Bitcoin reserve strategy similar to the US, it would become one of the world’s largest Bitcoin holders.
On March 7, Jan3 CEO Samson Mow addressed criticism from some Bitcoin supporters who argue that the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is insignificant since the US didn’t immediately purchase BTC.
However, Mow emphasized that its establishment will have a major impact.
He described this moment as the start of the “real race” for nation-state Bitcoin adoption.
He also noted that there are budget-neutral ways to acquire BTC, such as issuing bonds or selling gold.
Mow further suggested that the US may have less Bitcoin than expected, stating that only about 112,000 BTC remains in its possession because a large portion will be returned to Bitfinex.
“This would put China in the pole position with 194k BTC,” Mow added.
He also speculated that the US is unlikely to accept being behind China in Bitcoin reserves, making it likely to acquire more BTC.
While Beijing’s stance on Bitcoin reserves remains unclear, Hong Kong lawmakers are assessing the potential for Bitcoin adoption under China’s “one country, two systems” framework.
On Dec. 30, Wu Jiexhuang, a Hong Kong Legislative Council member, suggested that Hong Kong could study the impact of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US.
He also pointed out that Trump’s plan to make BTC a strategic reserve asset could have significant effects on traditional markets.
Sources:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/china-strategic-bitcoin-reserves-united-states-assets
