Swiss Bitcoin Advocates Campaign for Cryptocurrency Inclusion in National Bank Reserves

by Pooja Chauhan · 22/04/2024

Swiss bitcoin enthusiasts are campaigning for the inclusion of the cryptocurrency in the Swiss National Bank‘s (SNB) reserves. An advocacy group is actively working to persuade SNB officials, with plans to discuss the proposal at an SNB committee meeting on April 26, according to a report by the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung.

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Yves Bennaïm, a board member of Bitcoin Association Switzerland and leader of the initiative, is preparing to submit the necessary documents to Switzerland’s State Chancellery. This step is crucial for formally presenting the proposal to the SNB, Bennaïm informed local media.

The proposal aims to initiate a discussion on safeguarding Swiss sovereignty and neutrality through strategic financial policies, NZZ noted. Luzius Meisser, a collaborator on the initiative and president of asset manager Bitcoin Suisse, highlighted the strategic benefits of such a move. “By including Bitcoin in its reserves, Switzerland would mark its independence from the European Central Bank. Such a step would strengthen our neutrality,” Meisser explained to the press.

This initiative marks a continued effort by bitcoin advocates to integrate the cryptocurrency into the SNB’s strategy. In 2022, a similar group suggested the SNB should diversify its reserves by purchasing 1 billion Swiss francs worth of bitcoin each month instead of German government bonds, as reported by NZZ.

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