The management of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) considers it inappropriate to invest in bitcoin and keep it as a reserve of the regulator.
SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan said at the annual board meeting that buying bitcoin is not a problem for the central bank, it can do so either directly or by purchasing bitcoin-linked investment products. The head of the Central Committee is quoted by Reuters.
If necessary, the regulator will be able to organize the technical conditions when he has confidence that bitcoin is really worth including in the balance. However, based on the current situation, the SNB management does not believe that bitcoin meets the requirements of foreign exchange reserves.
Earlier, environmental activists demanded that SNB stop investing in companies that are exacerbating global warming due to carbon emissions. For example, Nora Scheel of the Campax Group expressed dissatisfaction that the regulator invests billions of dollars annually in the fossil fuel industry, contributing to the release of carbon dioxide produced throughout Switzerland. Jordan said SNB had reduced investment in energy and fossil fuel companies from 10% to 3-4%. SNB’s investments in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies operating on the principle of Proof-of-Work would cause even more outrage among environmentalists.
Quantum Economics analyst Jason Deane is convinced that bitcoin miners bring great benefits to the planet by using surplus electricity or exhaust gas to extract cryptocurrencies.
Earlier, Jordan called cryptocurrencies speculative instruments and expressed concern that stablecoins could violate Swiss monetary policy. At the end of last year, SNB together with the Bank of France tested digital euros and the Swiss franc to make international payments.
