The President of the Swiss National Bank rejects Bitcoin as a state reserve while the initiative for a popular referendum continues.
According to SWI swissinfo, the President of the Swiss National Bank, Martin Schlegel, has excluded the inclusion of Bitcoin in national reserves, calling it “incompatible with the requirements of a central bank.”
In a statement, Schlegel said:
“High volatility and limited liquidity make it an inadequate tool for a central bank that must ensure financial stability.”
The President’s concerns go beyond purely financial aspects. Schlegel also highlighted the environmental impact of mining, the risks associated with the lack of regulation, and added that, since digital assets rely on software, they are vulnerable to bugs and cybersecurity threats, making them riskier than traditional reserves. “And we all know that software can have bugs and other weak points,” said the SNB president.
In response to these remarks, Christian Decker, a developer at Blockstream, commented on X:
The central bank’s position comes at a time when a group of citizens is pushing forward a national referendum (Bitcoin Initiative) that, if approved, would require the SNB to include Bitcoin in its reserves. The initiative, officially registered on December 31, proposes a constitutional amendment to include Bitcoin alongside gold in national monetary reserves. The group must collect 100,000 signatures to move forward with the proposal.
During the same speech, Schlegel confirmed that the bank is working on the development of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), a fully regulated “digital franc” backed by the central bank.
