Prime Minister's Office Submits Proposal, Is Switzerland Reserved BTC?

‍Source: bitcoinist

Compiled by: Blockchain Knight

A group of Cryoto asset advocates in Switzerland is urging the government to consider including BTC in national reserves.

The Swiss Federal Chancellery initiated the process to obtain the required number of signatures to push for an amendment to the country’s constitution to allow the Swiss National Bank to establish BTC holdings.

Ahead of its expiration in 2024, the Swiss Federal Chancellery’s Office has begun promoting a proposal to include Crypto assets on the national balance sheet.

The state-run government agency stated that the proposal seeks to amend certain provisions of the Swiss Federal Constitution to allow the Swiss National Bank to purchase BTC as part of the European country’s national reserves.

After studying the prospect, the Swiss Federal Chancellery launched the process for the Crypto Asset Initiative, saying the proposal formally meets legal requirements.

"This initiative complies with the conditions set out in Article 69, paragraph 2, of the Federal Act on Political Rights of December 17, 1976. The aim is to create a fiscally sound, sovereign and responsible Switzerland," the government agency stated on the Fedlex website.

The initiative needs to collect around 100,000 signatures from the Swiss public to push for a constitutional amendment that would require the Swiss National Bank to include BTC alongside gold as part of the country’s monetary reserves.

The Swiss Federal Chancellery aims to obtain the required number of signatures by June 30, 2026, to advance the proposal to amend Article 99, paragraph 3, of the country's federal constitution.

The initiative will add the following clause: adding a "national bank" to the Swiss federal constitution and using its own income to establish sufficient currency reserves.

A portion of these reserves consists of gold and BTC, giving the Swiss National Bank the power to purchase top digital assets as national reserves.

According to the report, to implement the constitutional amendment, Crypto asset advocates must gain the support of approximately 1.12% of the Swiss population, or 8.92 million citizens. Once this threshold is reached, the initiative will be submitted for review to the Swiss Federal Assembly, Switzerland’s bicameral parliament.

The proposal was submitted by 10 Crypto asset advocates in Switzerland to urge the Swiss government to adopt BTC in its national reserves.

These advocates include Tether Vice President of Energy and Mining Giw Zanganeh and 2B4CH founder Yves Bennaïm.

However, the Swiss National Bank still maintains a conservative stance on Crypto assets, fearing the risks posed by central bank adoption of BTC.

Martin Schlegel, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Swiss National Bank, believes that BTC and other digital assets are still considered a "niche phenomenon," adding that Crypto assets have limitations due to their volatility and association with illegal activities.