Switzerland is storing BTC? The Chancellery has submitted a proposal

A group of cryoto-asset advocates in Switzerland is urging the government to consider including BTC in the national reserve.

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

The Swiss Federal Chancellery began pushing for a proposal to include Crypto assets on the national balance sheet before it expires in 2024.

The state-run government agency said 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 initiated the process for the Crypto Asset Initiative, saying the proposal formally meets the legal requirements.

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

The initiative needs to collect about 100,000 signatures from the Swiss public to promote a constitutional amendment that would require the Swiss National Bank to include BTC as part of the country's monetary reserves along with gold.

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: Add a "national bank" to the Swiss Federal Constitution to use its own income to establish sufficient monetary reserves.

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

According to reports, to achieve the constitutional amendment, Crypto asset advocates must obtain the support of about 1.12% of the Swiss population, or 8.92 million citizens.

Once this threshold is reached, the initiative will be submitted to the Swiss Federal Assembly, Switzerland’s bicameral parliament, for review.

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

These advocates include Giw Zanganeh, vice president of energy and mining at Tether, and Yves Bennaïm, founder of 2B4CH.

However, the Swiss National Bank remains conservative on Crypto assets, fearing the risks of central bank adoption of BTC.

Martin Schlegel, chairman of the Swiss National Bank’s board of directors, believes that BTC and other digital assets are still seen as a “niche phenomenon,” adding that Crypto assets have limitations due to their volatility and association with illegal activities.