Need to collect 100,000 signatures! Swiss Bitcoin supporters advocate the establishment of a Bitcoin reserve

A groundbreaking initiative in Switzerland advocates for the establishment of a BTC reserve and the inclusion of this cryptocurrency in the Swiss Constitution. The proposal, put forward by Giw Zanganeh, Vice President of Tether Energy and Mining, and Yves Bennaïm, founder and chairman of the Swiss BTC non-profit organization 2B4CH, aims to require the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to include BTC in its currency reserves, alongside gold.

Today we officially launched the popular initiative to add #Bitcoin to the @SNB_BNS Swiss National Bank’s balance sheet.

We will need the full support of our community to gather 100k signatures and make this a national referendum. Details will follow…

— Giw Zanganeh (@gzanganeh) December 31, 2024

The proposed constitutional amendment aims to revise the current provisions, requiring the Swiss National Bank to maintain gold reserves and adding 'and BTC' to the provisions. The proposal would modify Article 99(3) of the Swiss Federal Constitution to read: 'The National Bank has established sufficient currency reserves from its own income; a portion of these reserves consists of gold and BTC.' Supporters believe that this amendment is a strategic effort to protect Switzerland's sovereignty and neutral position in the increasingly turbulent global economic situation.

In order to initiate a nationwide referendum, the advocacy group 2B4CH must collect 100,000 valid signatures from Swiss citizens within the next 18 months (i.e., by June 30, 2026). This threshold was not reached in their first attempt in October 2021, but the group is now making a renewed effort to achieve this goal.

Bitcoin Suisse board member Luzius Meisser estimates that if the Swiss National Bank were to purchase CHF 1 billion worth of BTC every month starting in 2022, Switzerland's wealth today could increase by about CHF 30 billion (USD 32.9 billion). This highlights the potential financial benefits of including BTC in the Swiss National Bank's reserves.

The Swiss National Bank previously expressed doubts about BTC. Its chairman, Thomas Jordan, stated last month that he is cautious about cryptocurrencies such as BTC and Ethereum. However, supporters of the initiative believe that increasing BTC can confirm Switzerland's financial independence from major central banks such as the European Central Bank, and strengthen its neutral position.

The success of this initiative could serve as a blueprint for other countries and significantly shape Switzerland's financial strategy in the coming years. If successful, it would require review by the Swiss Federal Assembly, further solidifying its potential impact on the Swiss financial landscape.

<Needs to collect 100,000 signatures! Swiss BTC supporters advocate the establishment of BTC reserves> This article was first published in "Block Times".