Swiss National Bank | No to Bitcoin Reserves

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has rejected calls to add bitcoin to its official reserves despite growing pressure from local advocates and a global trend toward digital assets.

At the SNB’s annual general meeting on April 25 in Bern, Chairman Martin Schlegel was clear: Bitcoin does not meet the SNB’s strict requirements for reserve assets.

“Cryptocurrency can’t fulfill our currency reserve requirements,” Schlegel said, citing volatility and lack of liquidity.

Schlegel said the SNB needs assets that are stable, reliable and tradable – qualities he believes bitcoin can’t provide. He added:

“Cryptocurrencies are also known for their high volatility which is a risk for long-term value preservation.”

Despite the SNB’s firm stance, a group of Swiss Bitcoin advocates are insisting.

A citizen’s initiative has launched a campaign to force a national referendum that would require the SNB to hold bitcoin alongside gold in its reserves.

Related: Switzerland Now One Step Closer to Adding Bitcoin to Reserves

The campaign, backed by figures like Luzius Meisser, a board member of Bitcoin Suisse, argues that bitcoin could protect Switzerland’s wealth in times of financial turmoil.

Meisser said during the meeting: “Bitcoin will be worth a lot in the scenario of a multipolar world order with fading trust in government debt.”

He added that bitcoin could be a hedge against the weakening of traditional currencies like the U.S. dollar and the euro.

The proposal wants to amend Article 99 of the Swiss Constitution by adding bitcoin to the list of reserve assets.

To succeed, the campaign needs to gather 100,000 valid signatures within 18 months to trigger a national vote.

While Switzerland is cautious, other countries are warming up to Bitcoin.

In March, the U.S. announced the creation of a strategic Bitcoin reserve, using BTC seized during legal proceedings.

Some countries are exploring similar strategies, seeing bitcoin as a financial safety net in an unstable world.

But Switzerland, being a conservative country, is sticking to its guns. Schlegel reiterated that the SNB’s main task is to ensure monetary stability, and assets must be available and reliable during crises.

The SNB wants to have quick access to its resources for interventions and to support the Swiss franc.

Schlegel also mentioned the technical risks of digital assets.

He believes that as software-based assets, they can be prone to bugs, hacks and other vulnerabilities, which would make them even less suitable as reserves.

Switzerland’s Bitcoin industry however, is booming. Crypto Valley in Zug is growing fast. In 2024, the sector reached a $593 billion valuation, as Swiss cities are even testing bitcoin-based payment systems.

Despite this thriving Bitcoin ecosystem the SNB is not budging.

The central bank’s leadership says bitcoin’s volatility and liquidity issues make it not suitable for the stability-oriented demands of national reserves.

The referendum could challenge that view if it gets enough public support.

But even if the initiative succeeds, experts say any constitutional change would face a long road of legal, regulatory and technical hurdles before practical implementation.