A group of Crypto Asset advocates in Switzerland is urging the government to consider including BTC in the national reserves.
The Federal Chancellery of Switzerland initiated this process to obtain the required number of signatures to promote an amendment to the national constitution, allowing the Swiss National Bank to establish BTC holdings.
Before the expiration in 2024, the Federal Chancellery of Switzerland began promoting the proposal to incorporate Crypto Assets into the national balance sheet.
This state-owned government agency stated that the proposal aims to amend certain provisions of the Federal Constitution of Switzerland, allowing the Swiss National Bank to purchase BTC as part of European national reserves.
The Federal Chancellery of Switzerland has initiated the procedure for the Crypto Asset Initiative after studying this prospect, stating that the proposal formally meets legal requirements.
The government agency stated on the Fedlex website: 'The initiative meets the conditions set forth in Article 69, Section 2 of the Federal Political Rights Act of December 17, 1976. The aim is to establish a financially sound, sovereign, and responsible Switzerland.'
The initiative requires collecting approximately 100,000 signatures from the Swiss public to promote a constitutional amendment that would require the Swiss central bank to hold BTC alongside gold as part of the national monetary reserves.
The Chancellery submitted a proposal: Is Switzerland reserving BTC?
The goal of the Federal Chancellery of Switzerland is to obtain the required number of signatures by June 30, 2026, to advance the proposal aimed at amending Article 99, Section 3 of the country's federal constitution.
The initiative will add the following clause: to include 'National Bank' in the Federal Constitution of Switzerland, utilizing its own income to establish sufficient monetary reserves.
Part of the reserve consists of gold and BTC, granting the Swiss central bank the authority to purchase top digital assets as national reserves.
Reports indicate that to achieve the constitutional amendment, Crypto Asset advocates must gather support from about 1.12% of the Swiss population, or 890,000 citizens. Once this threshold is reached, the initiative will be submitted to the Swiss bicameral parliament—the Federal Assembly of Switzerland for review.
The proposal was submitted by 10 Crypto Asset advocates from Switzerland, aiming to urge the Swiss government to adopt BTC in its national reserves.
These advocates include Tether's 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 that the adoption of BTC by the central bank could pose risks.
Martin Schlegel, the chairman of the Swiss National Bank's board, believes that BTC and other digital assets are still viewed as a 'niche phenomenon,' and added that Crypto Assets have limitations due to their volatility and association with illegal activities.