- A crypto group that pushed for a referendum to allow the Swiss National Bank to hold Bitcoin as a reserve is letting its campaign lapse after failing to gather enough votes within the prescribed period for an initiative.
Crypto advocates who launched a campaign last year to make the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as a reserve asset are about to withdraw from their initiative. It follows their failure to secure the required number of votes under the Swiss Constitution for a referendum.
Proponents Accept Failure of Bitcoin Initiative
Yves Bennaim, founder of 2B4CH, admitted in an interview with Reuters that the last initiative was a “long shot.” Under Switzerland’s law, the campaign had 18 months to gather at least 100,000 signatures from eligible voters.
The group invoked Articles 68 and 69 of the Federal Act of December 17, 1976, and Article 23 of the Ordinance of May 24, 1978, to support its political exercise. If successful, it would have inserted “Bitcoin” into Article 99, Clause 3 of the Swiss Constitution, qualifying it as a reserve asset of the central bank.
The amendment should have read, “The Swiss National Bank shall create sufficient monetary reserves from its profits; part of these reserves shall be held in gold and Bitcoin.”
It’s worth noting that the 2B4CH team is no longer a stranger to pushing Bitcoin-related reforms. The group’s attempts during the previous years have also suffered the same fate.
Bennaim accepted the unfavorable outcome of the campaign, telling their group will let the initiative lapse. However, he remains optimistic that they will one day succeed, given the momentum they have built.
The move would have allowed the Swiss central bank to diversify its reserve assets into Bitcoin. Meanwhile, the SNB’s stamp of approval would likely have triggered a positive loop driving higher demand for BTC, as well as a boost in sovereign accumulation, institutional confidence, and retail sentiment.
The same effect would have trickled down to other crypto assets highly correlated with BTC’s value, including top coins such as Ethereum (ETH), XRP, BNB, Solana (SOL), and TRON (TRX).
Swiss National Bank’s Stance on BTC
From the get-go, the SNB has been against the idea of adopting Bitcoin as its reserve asset. It was a surprising turn amid Switzerland’s long-time status as the hotbed of crypto innovation and one of the most ideal places to operate a business related to blockchain and digital assets.
Thomas Jordan, Former Chairperson of the SNB, has firmly opposed the idea of allowing Bitcoin to meet the central bank’s reserve requirement through a constitutional amendment. He cited Bitcoin’s supposedly energy-intensive requirements, volatility, and convertibility as reasons for his position. The administration under chair Martin Siegel maintains the same stance.
