Swiss National Bank Rejects Bitcoin for Reserves Citing Liquidity and Volatility Issues

Highlights:

• Swiss National Bank rejects Bitcoin for reserves, citing liquidity and price volatility concerns.
• Luzius Meisser calls Bitcoin a “special asset” for financial instability, despite current limits.
• Swiss proposal aims to include BTC in reserves but must gather 100,000 signatures by 2026.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has turned down proposals to include Bitcoin (BTC) in its foreign reserves. At the bank’s annual meeting in Bern on April 25, Chairman Martin Schlegel said they need assets that are easy to trade and stable in value. He stated that cryptocurrencies do not fulfill the requirements for their currency reserves. Schlegel pointed out that market liquidity is a big problem and crypto prices change too much, making them unstable for reserves.

Luzius Meisser, who leads the BTC Initiative behind the referendum, spoke at the SNB meeting. He called Bitcoin a “special asset” that could be useful during financial troubles. Meisser admitted Bitcoin may not matter much in normal times, but said it could become very valuable if global trust in government debt weakens in a more divided world.

The Swiss National Bank rejects #Bitcoin due to its volatility and lack of desirable qualities.

Historically, this may be the worst decision they could make! pic.twitter.com/cXct16WKoP

— Coinvo (@ByCoinvo) March 4, 2025

Switzerland Proposes Bitcoin for National Reserves

The Swiss Federal Chancellery officially approved a proposal to modify the Swiss Constitution on December 31. The change would require the Swiss National Bank to hold Bitcoin in its reserves, in addition to gold. A group of ten prominent Swiss crypto advocates, including Yves Bennaïm, founder of the nonprofit think tank 2B4CH, and Giw Zanganeh, Vice President of Energy and Mining at Tether, leads this initiative.

The proposed change targets Article 99, Paragraph 3 of the constitution. To move forward, the proposal needs to collect 100,000 valid signatures by June 30, 2026. If the campaign succeeds, it would lead to the phrase “and in Bitcoin” being added to the end of the paragraph.

Even though Switzerland is known as a center for blockchain innovation, often called “Crypto Valley,” the Swiss National Bank is still very careful. Schlegel’s remarks show the bank will stick to using traditional assets like gold and strong foreign currencies unless major changes happen. In 2021, a similar initiative failed, but Bitcoin supporters are optimistic that the pro-crypto shift in the U.S. could influence Switzerland. 

The Swiss National Bank’s reserves are valued at over $900 billion. Most of these reserves are in foreign currencies, including the U.S. dollar and Japanese yen. The bank also holds $94 billion in gold reserves.

Countries Take Different Approaches to Embrace or Reject Bitcoin

As global views on cryptocurrency change, some countries are following Donald Trump’s approach. South Korean presidential candidate Hong Joon-pyo has committed to fostering blockchain development and easing cryptocurrency regulations. His plan includes investing over $35 billion in emerging technologies, with blockchain as a focus, which is a shift from South Korea’s current crypto regulations.

However, countries like Japan have not embraced Bitcoin. The European Central Bank’s Christine Lagarde firmly rejected the idea of EU central banks adding Bitcoin to their reserves.