The vice president of the Swiss Central Bank rejects the idea of including Bitcoin in the national reserves.
According to Bloomberg, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) has rejected any possibility of including Bitcoin in its reserves.
In an interview in Zurich with Bloomberg Television, Martin Schlegel, vice president of the bank, stated:
“We do not have plans to buy crypto assets. We are looking for the preservation of value for example. And as you know, cryptocurrencies have large fluctuations in value, so this is not a given.”
According to Schlegel, the SNB’s foreign currency reserves pursue a specific goal within monetary policy: Bitcoin is excluded due to its volatility, lack of legal protections, and overall instability, suggests the banker.
Another critical point raised by the Swiss central bank concerns liquidity. Schlegel emphasized that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have “question marks” in this area. As previously stated, Schlegel pointed out that the digital nature of the cryptocurrency makes it vulnerable to bugs and other technical risks, characteristics incompatible with the security requirements of a national currency reserve.
The popular initiative
Despite the SNB’s firm stance, a popular initiative is underway to force the bank to hold Bitcoin in its reserves. The proposal requires 100,000 signatures by June 2026 to trigger a public vote. If it reaches this threshold, it would be the Swiss people – not the central bank – who would have the final say on including the cryptocurrency in the nation’s official reserves.
