A campaign to amend Switzerland's constitution, requiring the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to hold bitcoin alongside gold and foreign-currency reserves, has failed after collecting only about half of the 100,000 signatures needed to trigger a national referendum. The initiative aimed to change the country's Federal Constitution to mandate that the SNB hold part of its monetary reserves in bitcoin and gold, though no specific allocation was proposed. The campaign had 18 months to gather signatures but fell short, effectively ending the bid for a national vote on the matter. The Swiss National Bank had previously rejected the idea, citing concerns over bitcoin's liquidity and volatility. The SNB opposed adding bitcoin to its reserves last year, reflecting its cautious stance toward cryptocurrency as a reserve asset. The campaign had framed bitcoin as a neutral reserve asset and a hedge against exposure to dollar- and euro-denominated holdings, which make up roughly three-quarters of the SNB's foreign-currency reserves, according to Reuters. For crypto holders, this outcome underscores the challenges of integrating bitcoin into national reserve strategies, particularly due to regulatory and risk concerns. It also highlights the difficulty of achieving constitutional changes even in a direct democracy like Switzerland. The failure may temper expectations for similar initiatives elsewhere, though bitcoin's growing adoption in other contexts remains unaffected.

Key facts

• Swiss campaign for bitcoin in SNB reserves fails with only ~50,000 signatures.
• Initiative needed 100,000 signatures to trigger national referendum.
• SNB had already rejected bitcoin reserves due to liquidity and volatility concerns.
• Campaign sought constitutional change for SNB to hold gold and bitcoin.
• Bitcoin framed as hedge against dollar, euro holdings in SNB reserves.

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