European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde suggested the Czech National Bank was unlikely to approve of adopting Bitcoin as a reserve asset following a conversation with its governor.
Speaking to members of the press on Jan. 30, Lagarde said the European Council held the view that reserves of central banks have to be “liquid, secure and safe,” implying that they would not include Bitcoin (BTC). She added that she was “confident” that BTC would not enter the reserves of banks under the council.
ECB President Christine Lagarde speaking on Jan. 30. Source: Reuters
Lagarde was addressing concerns following Czech National Bank Governor Aleš Michl’s suggestion the central bank invest in Bitcoin as part of its diversification strategy. The Czech central bank’s board voted to explore “other asset classes” on Jan. 30 for its reserves but did not specifically mention Bitcoin.
The ECB president’s comments marked one of the first times the bank addressed potential BTC reserves after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a working group to explore regulations around a national digital asset stockpile. At least one ECB member has suggested that the bank continue exploring the development of a digital euro in response to the Trump administration’s seeming embrace of the crypto industry.
Calls to adopt Bitcoin globally?
The number of proposals for countries to establish crypto reserves has been increasing following Trump’s election win in November 2024. Lawmakers in several US states, including Texas, Utah, Illinois and Arizona, have introduced bills or otherwise suggested plans for a Bitcoin stockpile modeled after legislation proposed by the advocacy group Satoshi Action Fund.
Related: ‘No to CBDC, yes to Bitcoin’ — European MP calls for EU BTC reserve
Ahead of his appearance at the World Economic Forum, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong suggested in a blog post that global policymakers create BTC reserves as hedges against inflation. As of January, El Salvador remains one of the few countries whose government openly announces its intention to stockpile BTC for a national reserve.
At the time of publication, the price of Bitcoin was $105,731, having risen by roughly 3.8% in the last 24 hours.
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