Swiss National Bank Deliberates on Bitcoin as Reserve Currency

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) disclosed at the central bank’s annual meeting on Friday that it does not consider Bitcoin ideal as a reserve currency. This deliberation, while not positive at this time, demonstrates that Bitcoin is gradually entering mainstream consciousness.

SNB: Buying Bitcoin is Not a Problem

SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan noted that it is not difficult for the bank to invest in Bitcoin. However, it is still skeptical about buying and adding the cryptocurrency to its balance sheet as a reserve asset. 

“Buying bitcoin is not a problem for us, we can do that either directly or can buy investment products which are based on bitcoin. We can arrange the technical and operative conditions relatively quickly, when we are convinced we must have bitcoin in our balance sheet.”

Despite the increased macroeconomic uncertainties,  Bitcoin still lacks the potential to advance into a reserve currency, according to SNB officials. The SBN chairman noted that Bitcoin does not possess the characteristics of a  currency reserve, thus the bank’s decision. 

“We do not believe bitcoin meets the requirements of currency reserves, which is why we have until now decided not to have bitcoin on our balance sheet,” he said. 

Bitcoin Reserve Currency Status Growing

Despite SBN’s perspective on Bitcoin, several independent jurisdictions are already adding Bitcoin to their reserves. Prime among recent adopters include El Salvador, where Bitcoin is legal tender.

Last year, Miami took the initiative and became the first city to include Bitcoin in its treasury reserve. 

Earlier in January, the mayor of  Rio de Janeiro  Eduardo Paes, a popular city in Brazil, said it has plans to convert part of the city’s treasury fund into Bitcoin as part of preparations to turn the city into a crypto hub.  The city also revealed plans to compensate those who pay taxes in Bitcoin for up to 10% of the  value.