The Central Bank of Switzerland is still deciding not to add Bitcoin to its list of national reserves. According to the bank’s chairman, Thomas Jordan, one reason the national bank is hesitant to hold the asset its reserves is environmental defects like carbon emissions caused by massive energy consumption during mining and transactions.
At the bank’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Friday, Jordan gave an additional reason as to why the country will not add the coin to the list alongside its gold, foreign currencies, bonds and shares. He stated, “We have not yet decided that we want to invest in bitcoin. Actually for good reasons…Currency reserves are international payments. They have to be liquid. They have to be sustainable. And we have to be able to sell and buy them.”
Swiss Bitcoiners Campaign For Bitcoin Reserve
The national bank’s decision not to add cryptocurrencies to its currency reserves has caused some Bitcoiners to show their dissatisfaction through campaigns. The first time was in 2022 when an advocacy group proposed that the bank replace buying of German government bonds with buying 1 billion Swiss francs worth of bitcoin every month.
A second campaign was held a few days ago by 2B4CH, a Swiss pro-Bitcoin think tank founded by Yves Bennaïm. However, the group added that the SNB should add the cryptocurrency to its currency to secure Swiss sovereignty and neutrality and diversify the Central Bank’s investments.
Luzius Meisser, a member of the Swiss cryptocurrency provider Bitcoin Suisse, who joined in the campaign, said concerning the proposal, “I firmly believe that it would strengthen the Swiss franc and the independence of the Swiss National Bank if we spent less on loss-making government bonds and started holding bitcoin.”
“Imagine you had the possibility to send something of value to your great-grandchildren in the year 2099. Would you prefer them to get 50,000 euros or a hard bitcoin? To me, the choice is clear,” he concluded.
Will the campaigns make the SNB waver in its decision not to hold Bitcoin reserves? Recent statements made by Thomas Jordan prove the SNB will not be adding Bitcoin to its currency reserves any time soon.
Meanwhile, Ripple revealed last year that U.S. banks, alongside other financial institutions, will start adopting its XRP token in international payments.
