The Czech National Bank (CNB) is considering adding bitcoin to its foreign exchange reserves. This was stated by ČNB Chairman Aleš Michl, who took over the agency in 2022 and is currently actively working to diversify the bank’s reserves by increasing the share of gold and equities in the portfolio. One of the possible areas of diversification is BTC, which Michl plans to submit to the Czech central bank’s board. If the decision is made, the Czech Republic will keep up to 5% of its 140 billion euros of reserves in bitcoin.
«The asset we are considering is bitcoin. It currently has a zero correlation with bonds and is an interesting asset for a large portfolio. It is worth considering. At the moment, it is only at the stage of analysis and discussion. The decision is up to the bank’s board, but it will not be made in the near future. We need a thoughtful analysis. Bitcoin has significant volatility, which makes it difficult to take advantage of its current low correlation with other assets. That is why I will ask our team on Thursday to further assess the potential role of bitcoin in our reserves», — wrote Michl.
The addition of bitcoin to government reserves will be a significant step for European central banks, as most of them express skepticism about cryptocurrencies as stable assets. Nevertheless, interest in cryptocurrencies from institutional investors is growing, especially amid the launch of bitcoin ETFs.
The United States was the first to consider adding BTC to national reserves (currently options with other crypto assets are being considered). The baton was later passed to Switzerland, Germany, Hong Kong, russia, Brazil and Poland.
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