Swiss National Bank (SNB) Vice President Martin Schlegel has caused a stir in the Bitcoin community with a new comment on a TV show. interview. Schlegel was asked to complete the sentences of the Swiss presenter who said: “I consider Bitcoin…”. And Schlegel added: “a very interesting concept”.
Although this was his only statement regarding Bitcoin, it provides an interesting insight into the current view of the Swiss National Bank. The statement implies that the SNB is curious about the technology and potential use of Bitcoin. However, it does not mean that I support or oppose BTC.
Still, the statement is notable because the US Federal Reserve (Fed) or the European Central Bank (ECB) could never admit that the number one cryptocurrency is an “interesting concept.” Instead, ECB President Christine Lagarde repeatedly referred to Bitcoin as “worthless” and a “speculative investment with no intrinsic value.”
Could the Swiss National Bank invest in Bitcoin?
Surprisingly, Vice President Schlegel’s comment is not the first comment from the Swiss National Bank on BTC. SNB chief Thomas Jordan expressed his views on the possible addition of Bitcoin to the central bank’s foreign reserves during the April 2022 SNB General Assembly.
This was preceded by two open letters from financial services company Bitcoin Suisse, both promoting an investment in the cryptocurrency. The company called for the creation of a framework “to be able to acquire and hold Bitcoin for currency and exchange rate purposes if necessary.”
The head of the SNB, Thomas Jordan, responded to this proposal in the General Assembly. as Reuters reported at the time, Jordan explained that BTC currently does not meet the requirements for foreign reserves. Therefore, he said, the SNB has decided not to keep BTC on its balance sheet.
However, Jordan also pointed to the possibility that the SNB could act quickly if that assessment changes. “We can arrange the technical and operational conditions relatively quickly, when we are convinced that we must have Bitcoin on our balance sheet,” the SNB chairman said.
Therefore, there does not appear to be a technical hurdle to buying BTC. “Buying Bitcoin is not a problem for us, we can do it directly or we can buy Bitcoin-based investment products,” Jordan reiterated.
The Swiss National Bank is different
Unlike its American and European counterparts, the Swiss National Bank cannot use accounting tricks to embellish its balance sheet. The SNB is incorporated as a public limited company and therefore reports in accordance with the appropriate rules.
This means that the SNB cannot hide its losses by valuing the government bonds it owns at cost rather than market. What this means was demonstrated in March 2023, when the SNB presented its annual financial statements.
like the NZZ reported, the Swiss National Bank lost around two thirds of its capital. The annual loss of 132.5 billion francs reduced the SNB’s assets by two-thirds, from 204.2 billion francs (225.97 billion dollars) to 65.8 billion francs (72.81 billion dollars).
At press time, the BTC price stood at $27,918. With today’s release of the US unemployment rate, BTC could be in for a volatile Friday.
Featured Image from Forbes, Chart from TradingView.com
