Swiss Government Considers Adding Bitcoin to National Reserves

• Switzerland is considering a proposal to add Bitcoin to its national reserves alongside gold.

• The Swiss National Bank is cautious about Bitcoin due to concerns like volatility and energy use.

The Swiss Chancellery recently initiated a proposal to include Bitcoin in Switzerland’s national reserves. Backed by ten crypto supporters, the campaign aims to repeal Article 99 of the Swiss Federal Constitution to allow the Swiss National Bank to hold Bitcoin alongside gold.

Constitutional Amendment and Required Support

The initiative was officially registered on December 31st and needs 100,000 signatures within the next 18 months to proceed. This threshold corresponds to about 1.12 percent of Switzerland’s 8.9 million population. If the proposal is successful, it will be forwarded to the Swiss Federal Assembly for further consideration.

Some of the leading figures include Tether’s Vice President of Energy and Mining Giw Zanganeh and Yves Bennaïm, the founder of the Swiss-based think tank 2B4CH. The amendment provides that the Swiss National Bank should accumulate assets from its profits, and here, assets mean gold and Bitcoin.

This proposal was initiated in April 2024, and an attempt was made to put it in writing. This is different from a similar exercise done in 2021, which was deferred due to low public and institutional support. According to the advocates, the conditions for adoption have never been better than they are now.

Switzerland is already known for being one of the world’s leaders in incorporating cryptocurrencies. Lugano is a city that allows Bitcoin to pay taxes, and the “Plan ₿” conference is held annually in the same city. Also, Zug’s Crypto Valley houses more than 1,200 companies with a blockchain focus, among which 13 are unicorns worth over $1 billion.

However, there are still some problems that need to be solved. The Swiss National Bank’s Chairman, Martin Schlegel, recently raised concerns over Bitcoin’s volatility and energy use. Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority has also raised similar concerns about money laundering risks.

Global Bitcoin Adoption Trends

It is similar to the national push for other countries to hold Bitcoin, which is a global phenomenon. Bitcoin uptake rose considerably in 2024. Bitcoin was approved for trading spot ETFs in the United States and became a key topic of focus during the Presidential race, with President-elect Donald Trump supporting Bitcoin.

The price of Bitcoin hit $100,000 as more traditional institutions embraced digital currencies. Diplomacy of adopting Bitcoin as a part of national reserves has been reported in the United States, Brazil, and Poland. El Salvador and Bhutan have already purchased large amounts of Bitcoin, and Vancouver has announced a plan to use Bitcoin as part of its financial assets.

Cryptocurrency is also being accepted in Russia. The Russian Finance Minister said that companies are dealing with Bitcoin for foreign trade, and President Vladimir Putin said that no government can prohibit Bitcoin.

While Bitcoin continues to creep up, the consequences for fiscal policies in various countries are still rather ambivalent. For example, the United States is concerned about the ability to use sanction threats related to the US dollar when using Bitcoin.