Swiss National Bank Bitcoin Reserve Push Fails as Campaign Falls Short

A campaign to require the Swiss National Bank to hold Bitcoin is set to lapse after failing to gather enough signatures to trigger a national referendum, Reuters reported.

The initiative sought to amend Switzerland’s constitution to require the central bank to hold Bitcoin (BTC) alongside gold and foreign currency assets, but organizers said they collected only about half of the 100,000 signatures required under Swiss law.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has repeatedly opposed adding cryptocurrencies to its holdings, saying digital assets do not meet its reserve management standards due to concerns about volatility and liquidity, Reuters reported.

Campaign founder Yves Bennaim told Reuters the effort was always considered unlikely to succeed, but said the initiative helped advance debate around Bitcoin’s role in global finance.

Supporters of the campaign said Bitcoin could help diversify Switzerland’s reserves away from dollar- and euro-denominated assets, which Reuters said account for roughly three-quarters of the SNB’s foreign currency holdings.

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Countries experiment cautiously with sovereign Bitcoin reserves

While 2025 saw a wave of publicly traded companies adopt Bitcoin treasury strategies, sovereign adoption of Bitcoin as a reserve asset has remained limited.

El Salvador was the first country to formally adopt Bitcoin as part of a sovereign reserve strategy after President Nayib Bukele began government BTC purchases in 2021 alongside the country’s move to make Bitcoin legal tender. The country currently holds 7,645 BTC, according to data from BitcoinTreasuries.com.

Source: Nayib Bukele

Bhutan, also one of the world’s largest sovereign holders of Bitcoin, built much of its treasury through state-backed mining operations powered by surplus hydroelectric energy as part of a broader strategy to turn renewable energy into a digital export and expand the country’s role in crypto finance.

However, data from Arkham Intelligence shows Bhutan-linked wallets have sharply reduced their holdings in recent months, with reserves falling from around 13,000 BTC at the end of 2024 to roughly 3,654 BTC by April 2026 following a series of large transfers and apparent sales.

Unlike El Salvador and Bhutan, which actively accumulated Bitcoin through purchases or mining, the three largest sovereign Bitcoin holders — United States, China and the United Kingdom — primarily acquired their holdings through criminal seizures and forfeiture proceedings.

Top 5 countries holding Bitcoin. Source: BitcoinTreasuries.net

On March 6, 2025, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve capitalized with government-held Bitcoin, stating that BTC held by the reserve “shall not be sold” and would be maintained as reserve assets of the United States.

While the executive order allows Treasury and Commerce officials to explore budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional Bitcoin, the reserve is initially backed by BTC already held by the government through forfeiture proceedings.

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