The campaign to include Bitcoin in Swiss National Bank reserves has failed to gather enough signatures for a referendum, with only half needed collected.
Efforts by crypto advocates to persuade the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to incorporate Bitcoin into its reserves have faltered, as they fell short of the necessary signatures for a referendum. The campaign required 100,000 signatures within 18 months but only garnered about half that number with the deadline approaching, as reported by Reuters.
Yves Bennaim, the campaign's founder, acknowledged the challenge from the outset, stating, "We understood from the start that this was a long shot. For now, we will let the initiative expire, but we have made progress toward our goal." The initiative aimed to mandate that the SNB hold Bitcoin alongside traditional assets like gold and fiat currencies, arguing it would help mitigate risks associated with reliance on fiat.
However, the SNB has consistently opposed the concept of including cryptocurrencies in its reserves. Martin Schlegel, the head of the SNB, cited concerns about Bitcoin's volatility, the lack of sufficient market depth, and the complexities involved in using digital assets for monetary policy.
Bitcoin's value has seen a decline of approximately 6.4% over the past year and about 7.5% since the start of the current year. Despite this, Bennaim pointed out that the asset remains liquid with daily transaction volumes in the “tens of billions of dollars.” He emphasized that the initiative was intended to prompt the central bank to consider a technology reshaping global finance.
In a broader context, El Salvador made history in September 2021 as the first nation to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, initially acquiring 550 BTC, which has since grown to 7,645 BTC valued at around $615 million. Meanwhile, Bhutan has been quietly building its Bitcoin reserves, previously holding about 13,000 BTC, though it has since sold off much of its holdings, leaving around 3,220 BTC. Additionally, the Czech National Bank has begun exploring the potential of investing in Bitcoin, while Kazakhstan's central bank announced plans for a state Bitcoin reserve of up to $1 billion.
