Switzerland Will Include Bitcoin In National Reserves

Bitcoin is proposed to be Swiss reserve funds. (Photo; Doc. Block Publisher)

JAKARTA - A number of Bitcoin fans have proposed that the Swiss National Bank (SNB) officially include Bitcoin (BTC) in its legendary gold reserves. They have started a referendum attempt to adapt the Swiss constitution, with a clear goal: juxtaposing Bitcoin with gold as a state reserve asset.

According to a report from Neue Z\"urcher Zeitung (NZZ), Switzerland's current constitution mandates SNB to create currency reserves from its revenue, with most stored in gold.

However, the 2B4CH nonprofit organization, led by Yves Benna closerm, wants to see changes to the relevant constitutional articles, which reads "Gold and Bitcoin". Bennamen said, "We are in the process of completing the organizational preparation for the committee and preparing documents that must be submitted to the State Chancellor to begin the process."

To realize this vision, 2B4CH will have to collect 100,000 signatures from citizens within 18 months to trigger a referendum. This is not their first attempt; by 2021, 2B4CH has tried similar initiatives, although with little hope of seeing them become law. However, they remain optimistic that getting 100 thousand signatures will trigger important public discussion and debate.

Luzius Meisser, President of the Bitcoin trading platform Suisse, believes that this move will allow Switzerland to operate independently from the European Central Bank (ECB). Meisser, who supports Benna waym, will have a 3 minute chance to present their arguments ahead of SNB at a meeting scheduled for April 26.

The NZZ report shows that Meisser has previously urged SNB to allocate 1 billion Swiss francs (approximately 1.1 billion US dollars or IDR 17.9 trillion) annually for Bitcoin as an alternative to German government bonds at the 2022 general meeting. Meisser argued that if SNB followed the suggestion, Switzerland would be more than $32.9 billion (approximately 30 billion Swiss francs or IDR 487.9 trillion) at this time.

He also warned that delays in taking this step could hurt Switzerland, as other central banks might buy Bitcoin and leave Switzerland to buy the asset at higher prices later.

While current efforts may not work, Bennamaser and Meisser have created significant awareness of Bitcoin and its potential use. Even if they fail again, Meisser's upcoming speech at SNB is expected to be strong enough to keep conversations about Bitcoin going.

In 2022, SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan stated that Bitcoin does not meet the criteria as currency reserves, so SNB has decided not to include Bitcoin in their balance sheet. However, Jordan also mentioned that buying Bitcoin is not a problem for SNB, which can be done directly or through Bitcoin-based investment products.