Former German FM Advocates Adding Bitcoin to National Reserves

• FDP leader Christian Lindner believes Bitcoin could diversify and strengthen Germany’s financial reserves, despite criticisms of its volatility.
• This is a potential trend reversal as German authorities sold 50,000 BTC worth $2.88 billion as part of a piracy and money laundering investigation.

Germany’s Free Democratic Party (FDP) leader Christian Lindner has said he supports adding Bitcoin (BTC) to national reserves, Handelsblatt reported. His statement is part of a growing global debate on the role of crypto in government-held assets.

Germany To Follow U.S. In Creating Strategic Bitcoin Reserve?

Lindner, who has acted as Germany’s finance minister, has also appealed to the ECB to consider this option and act in a similar line of action. He called out the fact that the USA would integrate Bitcoin into the federal reserve as a good argument to make Germany follow up.

According to Lindner, the Bitcoin reserve might be used to build the resilience of Germany’s reserves. He has been advocating for its adoption while debates are heating up in the U.S. concerning its place in the federal holdings. That followed a bill proposed by Senator Cynthia Lummis requiring the treasury to purchase 5% of the total Bitcoin supply. Speaking on the development, Lindner noted:

The new Trump administration is pursuing an extremely progressive policy on crypto-assets such as Bitcoin. In Washington, there is even consideration of the Federal Reserve including crypto-assets alongside currencies and gold in its reserves.

Despite this legislative momentum, skepticism remains in the U.S. financial sector. Jeff Park has been reported to lead alpha strategies at Bitwise Invest and estimated only a 10% chance of the U.S. embracing Bitcoin as a reserve asset in 2024. Other nations, like Japan and China, are skeptical of including crypto within their reserves, reported CNF.

While there has been a significant rise in institutional acceptance, volatility is still one of the significant barriers to inclusion in the reserves of major economies. Critics point out its price volatility as the primary issue and contrast it with the perceived stability of traditional reserve assets.

Lindner has, however, dismissed such objections, citing that even precious metals are not immune to price volatility. His remarks underscore a broader argument that Bitcoin could hold strategic value for diversifying and fortifying Germany’s financial reserves.

The German Selloff for BTC In 2024

If Donald Trump successfully creates a Bitcoin reserve after taking office on January 20, 2025, global trends could shift further. It could propel other countries to adopt BTC faster. However, Germany still has a long way to go to create such a reserve since earlier this year, the authorities dumped nearly 50,000 BTC.

In July 2024, German authorities announced the completion of a large-scale sale of 50,000 BTC, generating €2.639 billion ($2.88 billion). This significant dump, which authorities referred to as an “emergency sale,” took place between June 19 and July 12.

The Bitcoin reserve was worth approximately $2.1 billion at the time of its seizure as part of a probe into piracy websites and money laundering activities. Regulators declared the BTC price fluctuations as “irrelevant” to the process.

At the time, the sale was coordinated by the Saxon Police’s Central Office for the Safeguarding, Custody, and Utilization of Cryptocurrencies in partnership with the Dresden Public Prosecutor’s Office. Germany-based trading firm Bankhaus Scheich also aided in managing the sale to ensure minimal market disruption. “The bank was commissioned to sell the Bitcoins in a way that was fair and gentle on the market,” stated the prosecutor’s office.