Swiss National Bank chief dismisses Bitcoin reserve calls
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An official of the Swiss National Bank dismissed calls for the institution to add Bitcoin to its reserves as a hedge against the ongoing macroeconomic turmoil. According to an April 25 Reuters report, Swiss National Bank Chairman Martin Schlegel said that “cryptocurrency cannot currently fulfil the requirements for our currency reserves” during a shareholder meeting in Bern earlier today. The comments come amid mounting pressure from the local crypto industry to add Bitcoin (BTC) to the central bank’s reserves. Campaigner Luzius Meisser, a board member of cryptocurrency broker Bitcoin Suisse, told Reuters that “holding bitcoin makes more sense as the world shifts towards a multipolar order.” He claimed that the need is even more dire now that “the dollar and the euro are weakening.” This is not the first time Schlegel has pushed back against the idea. Reports from early March quoted Schlegel saying that he doesn’t want to make Bitcoin a reserve asset in Switzerland, citing a lack of stability, liquidity concerns and security risks. Related: Swiss canton of Bern votes to study Bitcoin mining feasibility Switzerland’s campaign for a Bitcoin reserve On the last day of 2024, the Swiss Federal Chancellery initiated a proposal to constitutionally mandate the Swiss National Bank to hold Bitcoin on its balance sheet. The proposal needs to gather 100,000 signatures to trigger a referendum in Switzerland. Signature collection document. Source: InitiativeBTC.ch The initiative requests to change the third paragraph of Article 99 of the constitution. The relevant text currently states: “The Swiss National Bank shall create sufficient currency reserves from its revenues; part of these reserves shall be held in gold.” If successful, the campaign would result in adding “and in Bitcoin.” to the end of the paragraph. The initiative saw the participation of the Swiss Bitcoin nonprofit think tank 2B4CH, which was…
Filed under: News - @ April 26, 2025 5:11 am