The president of the Swiss National Bank said on Friday that cryptocurrencies have failed to meet the bank's currency reserve standards, thus rejecting calls from cryptocurrency advocates for the bank to hold Bitcoin as a hedge against rising global economic risks.
Cryptocurrency activists are intensifying pressure on the Swiss central bank to buy Bitcoin, arguing that the economic disruptions caused by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs have increased the importance of diversifying the central bank's reserves.
They launched a referendum campaign to amend the Swiss constitution and require the Swiss National Bank to hold Bitcoin among its reserves alongside gold; however, Swiss National Bank President Martin Schlegel rejected the idea at the central bank's shareholders meeting in Bern.
Schlegel said that cryptocurrencies currently cannot meet our currency reserve requirements.
He added that market liquidity is one of the concerns, as the central bank always needs the ability to buy and sell foreign currencies.
Schlegel explained that cryptocurrencies often experience extreme volatility in their values, raising doubts about their ability to maintain the value of the Swiss National Bank's currency reserves.