The Bitcoin Policy Institute just published a paper arguing that Taiwan should hold bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset, specifically as insurance against a Chinese naval blockade. The argument is straightforward. Taiwan holds $577 billion in foreign reserves, almost entirely in US Treasuries and dollar-denominated assets. If China blockades or invades, those reserves become inaccessible. SWIFT transfers get frozen. Gold sitting in foreign vaults can't be repatriated. Traditional reserves fail precisely when they're needed most. Bitcoin doesn't have this problem. It can be held in self-custody, transmitted via satellite, transferred across borders without permission from any bank or government, and converted to value anywhere there's an internet connection, or even without one through mesh networks and radio. The paper draws on real precedents. Ukraine's central bank was able to receive $100 million in bitcoin donations within days of Russia's invasion, faster than any traditional aid channel. The National Bank of Ukraine processed $35 million in bitcoin conversions during the first months of the war. Meanwhile, Russia demonstrated the flip side: when SWIFT was weaponized against it, countries with no alternative settlement infrastructure had no options. Taiwan's situation is arguably more extreme. The island imports 98% of its energy and the majority of its food. A blockade wouldn't just freeze financial assets, it would threaten physical survival. The authors argue that even a modest bitcoin allocation, 5% of reserves (~$29 billion), would give Taiwan a censorship-resistant financial lifeline that no blockade can sever. The paper also notes that Taiwan's semiconductor dominance gives it massive leverage, TSMC produces over 90% of the world's most advanced chips. But that leverage is meaningless if the country can't access its own money during a crisis. This isn't hypothetical anymore. The Strait of Hormuz is currently under selective Iranian control. SWIFT has been weaponized against Russia. Traditional reserves have proven vulnerable to exactly the scenarios bitcoin was designed for. Taiwan may be the clearest case study yet for why nation-states need a sovereign asset that doesn't depend on anyone else's permission to use.