David Bailey, CEO of Bitcoin Magazine, said on X that China is working to establish its own strategic bitcoin reserve and has been holding closed-door meetings on the subject since the U.S. election. The claim has not been confirmed by Chinese authorities, but it quickly fueled fresh discussion across the crypto market about whether Beijing could revisit bitcoin as a strategic asset.
Bailey’s remarks came after U.S. President Donald Trump publicly backed the idea of a strategic crypto reserve. According to the report, Trump said a reserve was forthcoming and surprised parts of the market by naming XRP, ADA, and SOL as assets that could be included. He later added that he “loved” bitcoin and ethereum, suggesting both would naturally be part of any broader U.S. reserve framework.
Questions around China’s actual bitcoin holdings remain unresolved
This was not the first time Bailey raised the issue. On Nov. 19, 2024, he said a well-informed source told him that Chinese President Xi had shifted his thinking on bitcoin in response to Trump’s leadership and that China would not be selling its bitcoin reserve going forward.
For years, market participants have argued that several governments, including China, hold bitcoin mainly obtained through criminal asset seizures. Some estimates place China’s holdings at around 190,000 BTC. Still, there is no definitive public proof that such a balance remains under state control, and skepticism over those figures remains widespread.
PlusToken seizure remains central to the debate
A major part of the discussion centers on assets confiscated in connection with the PlusToken Ponzi scheme. China reportedly seized about 194,775 BTC in that case, an amount now worth billions of dollars. That seizure continues to drive speculation over whether the bitcoin was liquidated or retained as a potential reserve asset.
China’s relationship with bitcoin has long been complicated. The country was once a major hub for mining and trading, but it banned such activities in 2021, citing financial risks and support for the digital yuan. Without hard evidence, claims that China is actively building a strategic bitcoin reserve remain speculative. Even so, Trump’s increasingly pro-crypto stance is prompting markets to reassess how major governments may position bitcoin in future reserve strategies.