A striking initiative from Manila is capturing global attention: Congressman Miguel Luis R. Villafuerte has introduced the “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act” in the Philippine Congress. The bill directs the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to purchase 2,000 Bitcoin annually over five years, building a total reserve of 10,000 BTC. These holdings are to remain locked in secure cold-storage facilities for two decades.
Modeled after commodity-style reserves such as the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve or Canada’s maple syrup stockpile, the legislation aims to bolster national financial stability and create a dedicated mechanism for debt repayment. The country currently faces a national debt of approximately $285 billion, around 60% of its GDP.
The proposal enforces strict rules: during the 20-year lockup period, Bitcoin may only be used to reduce government debt. Afterward, sales are strictly limited, with no more than 10% of holdings allowed to be offloaded in any two-year period. The law also mandates geographically dispersed cold-storage facilities, audited quarterly by independent third parties with public cryptographic attestations.
Technical safeguards are included: forks and airdropped assets must be retained for at least five years. At the same time, the legislation ensures that private Bitcoin ownership remains untouched, explicitly prohibiting confiscation.
If enacted, the Philippines would become one of the first countries to hold Bitcoin as a strategic national reserve, potentially serving as a model for other emerging economies with high debt levels and signaling a bold step in sovereign crypto adoption.