A campaign urging the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to include Bitcoin in its official reserves is ending after supporters failed to gather enough signatures to trigger a referendum under Swiss constitutional rules. Despite months of outreach and public campaigning, the initiative fell short of the required threshold.
Organizers had 18 months to collect 100,000 valid signatures to propose a constitutional amendment that would have required the SNB to hold Bitcoin alongside gold and foreign currency reserves. With the deadline now passed, the Bitcoin Initiative reported it had gathered roughly half of the needed signatures.
Major Setback in Reserve Campaign
Campaign founder Yves Bennaim told Reuters the effort faced long odds from the outset and that the initiative will be allowed to lapse. He added that, while the push did not achieve its signature goal, it succeeded in elevating public discussion about the role of cryptocurrencies in the financial system.
The SNB has consistently opposed holding cryptocurrencies as reserve assets, arguing that digital tokens are too volatile and lack the deep market liquidity required for reliable reserve management. The central bank emphasizes that reserve holdings must permit rapid adjustments to the balance sheet when necessary while preserving value over the long term.
Central bank approaches to digital assets vary globally. For example, the Czech National Bank acquired roughly $1 million worth of cryptocurrency and blockchain-related assets last year to gain practical insight into digital markets. By contrast, the European Central Bank remains cautious, reiterating that reserve assets must be secure, safe, and liquid.
In Taiwan, a recent proposal from lawmaker Dr. Ko Ju-Chun sought to add Bitcoin to the country’s national reserves. Presented during a Legislative Yuan session attended by senior officials, the proposal framed Bitcoin as a potential strategic hedge against heavy reliance on U.S. dollar reserves, despite ongoing concerns about volatility and custody risks.
Broader Context
The debate over Bitcoin as a reserve asset is unfolding amid persistent market volatility. Bitcoin briefly reached a multi-month high earlier this week but subsequently fell below $80,000, leaving the asset more than 36% below its all-time peak recorded last year.
Market sentiment has also been affected by geopolitical developments. Conflicting reports about an alleged Iranian attack on a U.S. Navy vessel in the Strait of Hormuz contributed to increased caution among investors.
Although the Swiss initiative did not reach the ballot, the conversation it sparked highlights a growing interest among some policymakers and observers in rethinking the composition of national reserves. Whether central banks will move beyond exploratory purchases and cautious studies to meaningful allocations to digital assets remains uncertain and will likely depend on developments in market depth, regulatory clarity, custody solutions, and volatility trends.
For now, the SNB’s stance reflects a broader central bank priority: reserve assets must be dependable instruments that support monetary stability and allow for timely policy responses. While experiments and proposals continue in other jurisdictions, Switzerland’s central bank has not been persuaded that cryptocurrencies currently meet those requirements.