Taiwanese lawmaker Ko Ju-Chun has called on the government to consider adding Bitcoin to its national reserves, suggesting it could serve as a hedge against global economic uncertainty.

Ko, a legislator at-large in Taiwan’s legislative body, the Legislative Yuan, took to X on Friday to report that he had advocated Bitcoin (BTC) investment by the Taiwanese government at the National Conference on May 9.

In his remarks, Ko cited Bitcoin’s potential to become a hedge amid global economic risks and urged Taiwan to recognize the cryptocurrency alongside gold and foreign exchange reserves to boost its financial resilience.

Source: Ko Ju-Chun

Ko’s announcement came shortly after the legislator held talks with Samson Mow, who advocates for Bitcoin adoption by states like El Salvador at his BTC tech firm Jan3.

Taiwan is an export-oriented economy

Ko highlighted that Taiwan is an export-driven economy that has experienced significant fluctuations in its national currency, the New Taiwan dollar, amid global inflation and intensifying geopolitical risks.

“We currently have a gold reserve of 423 metric tons, and our foreign exchange reserves amount to $577 billion, including investments in US Treasury bonds,” the lawmaker stated.

In a scenario of more intense currency volatility or potential regional conflicts, Taiwan may “very likely be unable to ensure the security and liquidity,” Ko continued, adding that Bitcoin could be a great addition to Taiwan’s reserves for several reasons.

Ko Ju-Chun advocated for the adoption of Bitcoin by the Taiwanese government before the Legislative Yuan. Source: Ko Ju-Chun

“Bitcoin has been operating for over 15 years. It has a fixed total supply, is decentralized, and is resistant to censorship. Many countries are focusing on its hedging attributes. At the same time, in intense situations, it may not face the risk of embargo,” he said.

Bitcoin is not the only solution

Referring to many global initiatives considering Bitcoin adoption as a reserve asset, Ko stressed that he’s not advocating for Bitcoin as the “only solution” to rising economic challenges.

Instead, the legislator suggested adding a “small proportion of Bitcoin” into the diversified assets as tools for sovereign asset allocation and risk hedging, and backup capacity of Taiwan’s financial system.

Related: Trump tricked into pushing XRP for crypto reserve: Report

He previously suggested that Taiwan could allocate a maximum of 5% of its $50 billion reserve to Bitcoin in an X post on May 6.

Source: Ko Ju-Chun

“When exchange rate risk and regional uncertainty increase, it is time to introduce new tools to construct a more flexible financial strategy framework,” Ko said, adding:

“As former Dean Chen Chong said, Bitcoin is the gun of the digital era. It may also be the gold of the digital era, the silver of the digital era. Or it could be gunpowder. A wise nation will not let weapons be in others’ hands.”

The news comes as Taiwan is emerging as a crypto-friendly jurisdiction, with the Financial Supervisory Commission pushing institutional trials of crypto custody services in late 2024.

Mainland China continues to maintain its hostile stance on cryptocurrency after imposing a ban on multiple crypto activities, including mining, in 2021.

Magazine: Adam Back says Bitcoin price cycle ’10x bigger’ but will still decisively break above $100K

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott blamed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act’s failure on partisan politics during a Senate speech on May 8.

Scott said the vote, which failed to reach cloture in the Senate, was expected to mark a step toward greater affordability and innovation. Instead, he said, political divisions took precedence.

“Instead, we witnessed a disappointing display of political gamesmanship that puts partisan politics above policy, and obstruction above innovation,“ Scott said.

The bill had previously undergone multiple amendments to address concerns raised by Democrats, including stricter requirements for stablecoin issuers and further provisions for Anti-Money Laundering.

Related: Trump tricked into pushing XRP for crypto reserve: Report

Scott criticizes last-minute opposition

Scott, a South Carolina Republican, said that “the GENIUS Act was a bipartisan achievement at the Banking Committee.” By working on it, he claimed those involved “made the decision to make America’s economy safer and cheaper for the American people.” Still, in his view, Democrats changed their minds when the “light and cameras were watching.”

Scott alleged that the shift was driven not by changes in the bill, but by efforts to deny President Donald Trump a legislative win:

“It was a vote against President Trump and President Trump’s legislative agenda. It was a vote to stop President Trump from having a victory in the digital asset space.“

Related: Democrat lawmakers object to hearing, citing ‘Trump’s crypto corruption’

Democrats cite corruption concerns

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, a leading voice on crypto regulation, raised concerns that the Trump family-linked stablecoin, USD1, surged in market value due to a “shady crypto deal with the United Arab Emirates.”

“The Senate shouldn’t pass a crypto bill this week to facilitate this kind of corruption,“ she said.

On May 1, Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX used the Trump-linked stablecoin USD1 to settle a $2 billion investment in Binance. According to CoinMarketCap data, the stablecoin’s market cap shot up from under $137 million on May 1 to nearly $2.13 billion on May 2.

USD1’s Market Capitalization. Source: CoinMarketCap

Democrats voiced concerns around Trump’s crypto-related activities and sponsored multiple bills to address those concerns. Four of the five pro-crypto Democrats who passed the GENIUS Act in the Senate Banking Committee signed their names to a statement on May 3, saying that they do not feel comfortable with the direction stablecoin legislation is taking.

While the letter did not mention Trump directly, Representative Maxine Waters was more explicit in her opposition.

“If there is no effort to block the President of the United States of America from owning his stablecoin business […] I will never be able to agree on supporting this bill, and I would ask other members not to be enablers,” Waters said.

Democrats propose stricter crypto laws

Democrats also recently sponsored the Modern Emoluments and Malfeasance Enforcement Act, or the MEME Act, to prevent federal officials from profiting from memecoins. US Senator Jeff Merkley and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also introduced the End Crypto Corruption Act earlier this week.

The End Crypto Corruption Act would ban the president, vice president, senior executive branch officials, members of Congress, and their immediate families from financially benefiting from issuing, endorsing or sponsoring crypto assets, such as memecoins and stablecoins.

In a statement published on Merkley’s website, he said that “people who wish to cultivate influence with the president can enrich him personally by buying cryptocurrency he owns or controls.”

“This is a profoundly corrupt scheme. It endangers our national security and erodes public trust in government. Let’s end this corruption immediately,” Merkley added.

In a statement to CBS News, Warren echoed that sentiment, saying that both Democrats in favor and opposed to the GENIUS Act “agree that green-lighting Donald Trump’s corrupt stablecoin deals is wrong.”

“The GENIUS Act will simply facilitate Trump’s crypto corruption,” Warren claimed.

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

Key points:

Bitcoin (BTC) is at its highest levels since January, and traders are eyeing key levels to watch for what’s next.

After hitting $104,000, BTC/USD is retracing to establish support, but the fate of $100,000 is among the concerns for market participants.

Current price action represents an important battleground, as measured from the $75,000 lows this year.

” Headline driven” BTC price gains draw scrutiny

Just $6,000 from new all-time highs, per data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, BTC price action has stunned the market by jumping 10% in days.

The pace of the BTC price gains has come as a surprise for many, but longer-term perspectives show where the most difficult battleground lies.

“Since this current impulse was primarily headline driven again this puts markets into a crucial & critical trading day,” trader Skew said about the impetus for the move in an X post on May 8.

Skew refers to a common theme uniting BTC price volatility in recent weeks and months. Bitcoin and risk assets have become highly sensitive to headlines and even social media posts involving US President Donald Trump and his trade tariffs.

The latest event involves a trade deal between the US and UK, but how long optimism endures remains an open bet.

“I’m sure markets are hoping this has a kick on effect to get trade deals on the table for other major trade parties like EU & China,” Skew continued.

Another X post said what is needed now are “passive flows,” strong volume to support newly revisited levels and turn them into strong support.

Skew added:

“Passive flows will be important for accepting higher value especially after such a large market bid which led price to break $100K.”BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Fibonacci levels spotlight crucial bull market battle

Current local highs for BTC/USD have breached the $104,000 mark, and zooming out, Fibonacci retracement analysis reveals that price is now in a key zone.

“$BTC is at the last technical level to clear before new ATHs,” commentator Patric H. announced in an X post. 

“Bitcoin has already decisively cleared the 1.618 FIB and is now trading at the volume-area high (VAH) + a weak resistance trendline.”BTC/USDT 1-day chart with Fibonacci levels. Source: Patric H./X

An accompanying chart offered important Fibonacci levels as measured from Bitcoin’s local lows around $75,000.

Another trading account, Kingpin Crypto, revealed a conspicuous breakout attempt for the 1.618 Fibonacci level on the monthly chart.

“Rejection and pullback from 1.618 lasted a bit longer till May. However, can’t deny how beautifully the fib level played out,” it said.

BTC/USDT 1-month chart with Fibonacci levels. Source: Kingpin Crypto/X

Liquidations waiting in the wings

A cautionary note involved order book liquidity at current levels.

Related: How high can Bitcoin price go?

The latest data from monitoring resource CoinGlass showed price eating away at bids immediately below $103,000, with the bulk of interest clustered below $100,000.

To the upside, however, little friction remained, with the bulk of liquidations having already occurred on the return to six figures.

Bitcoin liquidation heatmap (screenshot). Source: CoinGlass

“There’s much less short liquidity clustered above,” trader TheKingfisher confirmed on X. 

“This notable imbalance makes the downside liquidation zone a potential key area to watch for volatility or price attraction.”Bitcoin exchange order book liquidity data. Source: TheKingfisher/X

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.