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Feds not adding Bitcoin to reserves; Canadian banks mum

By Jon Erlichman
Feds not adding to Bitcoin to reserves; Canadian banks stay mum Legendary investor Bill Miller is arguing corporate finance teams could see some value in holding Bitcoin in their cash reserves. But Canada’s banks and the federal government aren’t indicating holding the cryptocurrency is a priority for them. BNN Bloomberg’s Jon Erlichman and Bloomberg Intelligence's Mike McGlone discuss.

Bitcoin believers have been building a bullish case in a number of ways — including by pushing the idea that the cryptocurrency will become a chief financial officer’s friend as corporate finance teams find value in holding it in their cash reserves.

Legendary investor (and Bitcoin bull) Bill Miller recently made this argument in explaining why he remains optimistic on the outlook after a recent record run above US$40,000 per coin.

“If inflation picks up, or even if it doesn’t, and more companies decide to diversify some small portion of their cash balances into Bitcoin instead of cash, then the current relative trickle into Bitcoin would become a torrent,” the founder of Miller Value Partners LLC wrote in a blog post published Jan. 5.

Indeed, in the United States there are some companies that have made it known they believe holding Bitcoin is a good corporate practice. Those companies include Square Inc. and MicroStrategy Inc.

However, in Canada, many companies have been quiet on their thinking — including the big Canadian banks.

BNN Bloomberg reached out to the major financial players — Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Montreal, The Bank of Nova Scotia, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and National Bank of Canada— and spokespeople for all the banks either declined to comment or did not respond.

Meanwhile, BNN Bloomberg received a more meaningful response from Finance Canada, which indicated that holding Bitcoin is not a priority for the government.

“As per the Currency Act, Canada’s foreign reserves are in place to help control and protect the value of the Canadian dollar, if necessary, as well as provide an additional source of liquidity for the government, if needed,” a finance department official said via email.

“They are managed according to the Asset-Liability Matching framework as to limit volatility. This means that for every foreign reserve asset, there must be a liability with a highly correlated value. Bitcoin does not meet these criteria as it remains relatively volatile and cannot be paired under the Asset-Liability Matching framework.”