Swiss Central Bank President Labels Bitcoin Too Risky for National Reserves

Bitcoin is not suitable for inclusion in national reserves due to the lack of stability, liquidity, and security associated with cryptocurrencies. This was stated by Martin Schlegel, the head of the Swiss National Bank (SNB), as reported by Swissinfo.

Schlegel explained that the high volatility of digital assets renders them unreliable for preserving value over the long term.

According to him, reserves need to be readily available to implement monetary policy effectively.

The SNB chief also highlighted the vulnerabilities tied to the software underlying cryptocurrencies, reminding us of the potential for coding errors.

His comments came in the context of an initiative advocating for a constitutional amendment that would require the Swiss Central Bank to hold reserves in Bitcoin alongside gold.

This initiative was launched by entrepreneur Yves Benaym, who began gathering signatures in December 2024. To bring this issue to a national vote, 100,000 signatures must be collected within 18 months.

Despite the growing interest in cryptocurrencies in Switzerland and their increasing use within the banking sector, Schlegel described Bitcoin as a «niche phenomenon.» He emphasized that the Swiss franc remains a reliable currency and is not threatened by competition from digital assets.

Additionally, it should be noted that on February 21, Swiss bank PostFinance launched a service for cryptocurrency trading.