Update March 7, 11:32 am UTC: This article has been updated to add Jan3 CEO Samson Mow’s X post.

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 establishing a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” and a “Digital Asset Stockpile.” The reserves will initially be funded using Bitcoin (BTC) and other digital assets seized in government criminal cases.

With the US shifting its stance on BTC, China may make moves to avoid falling behind. On March 3, Bitcoin advocate David Bailey, one of the Bitcoin supporters credited for “orange-pilling” Trump, said that China may be working on its own strategy response to Trump’s executive order. 

Bailey said the country has reportedly held closed-door meetings on Bitcoin since the 2024 US elections, though no official confirmation has been made.

How much Bitcoin does China currently have? 

If China adopts a Bitcoin reserve strategy, its holdings may rival those of the US. The US government currently holds 198,109 BTC, valued at more than $17 billion.

In addition, White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks has said the US will not sell Bitcoin in the reserve but will instead treat it as a long-term store of value. The government also intends to implement “budget-neutral strategies” to buy more Bitcoin. 

China has never officially disclosed its Bitcoin holdings or any sale strategies.

In 2020, Chinese authorities seized nearly 195,000 BTC from the PlusToken Ponzi scheme. A ruling from the Yancheng Intermediate People’s Court stated that profits from the confiscated crypto assets were forfeited to the national treasury.

On Jan. 23, CryptoQuant founder and CEO Ki Young Ju speculated that China might have already sold its BTC stash. The executive said it’s unlikely that the country would hold “censorship-resistant money.” However, he noted that this was only his personal opinion.

Ju said the Chinese Communist Party transferred the coins to the national treasury but did not clarify whether it sold the coins or not.

If China still holds the reserves and follows the US Bitcoin reserve strategy, the country would be one of the largest Bitcoin holders globally. 

Related: US Bitcoin ETFs lose $1.14B in two weeks amid US-China trade tensions

US adoption starts nation-state Bitcoin race

In a March 7 X post, Jan3 CEO Samson Mow said that while some Bitcoin supporters undermine the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve because the country didn’t immediately purchase BTC, the effects of its establishment will be immense. 

Mow said this event sparks the “real race” for nation-state Bitcoin adoption. The executive also pointed out that there are “budget neutral” ways to acquire BTC, including issuing bonds or selling gold.

Mow also pointed out that the US only has 112,000 BTC or less because a huge portion of its holdings will be returned to the crypto exchange Bitfinex. “This would put China in the pole position with 194k BTC,” Mow added. 

The executive added that the US might not be able to accept losing to China in reserves and is likely to add more Bitcoin to the stash. 

While Beijing’s stance on Bitcoin reserves remains uncertain, Hong Kong lawmakers are exploring the potential for Bitcoin adoption within China’s “one country, two systems” framework.

On Dec. 30, Wu Jiexhuang, a member of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, said Hong Kong could study the market impact of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the US. The official said Trump’s proposal to make BTC a strategic reserve asset might impact traditional markets. 

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