Czech central bank buys bitcoin for first time as part of digital asset ‘test portfolio’

The Czech National Bank (CNB) has made its first purchase of digital assets, creating a $1 million "test portfolio" of blockchain-based instruments that includes bitcoin, an unnamed USD stablecoin, and a tokenized deposit.

The purchase was made outside the CNB's existing international reserves, and will not be actively increased, the central bank said in a statement, marking a limited experiment rather than a substantial policy shift.

Approved by the bank's board on Oct. 30, the CNB said that the test portfolio is designed to give it practical experience in managing digital assets and to test the technical, legal, and operational processes involved in holding them.

"The aim was to test decentralized bitcoin from the central bank's perspective and to evaluate its potential role in diversifying our reserves," CNB Governor Aleš Michl said. "Subsequent internal discussions broadened the scope to include the future of payments and the tokenization of assets. We will inform the public about our experience on an ongoing basis and present an overall assessment of the project in approximately two to three years."

The CNB explained that the portfolio will allow it to compare various types of blockchain assets while examining how to securely store, settle, account for, and audit them. Processes under review include key management, multi-level approvals, crisis response, and anti–money laundering compliance.

"Although much is known in theory, only practice will reveal the details and difficulties of day-to-day operation," the bank said, stressing that maintaining in-house expertise and operational readiness are key motivations for the initiative.

Governor Michl also emphasized that the test portfolio would not affect monetary policy or the country's foreign exchange operations.

"The koruna is our legal tender," he said. "The CNB will continue to strive to keep inflation low and the koruna strong. However, new ways of paying and investing will emerge rapidly in the years ahead... As a central bank, we want to test this path."

The portfolio's marginal size means any market volatility will have no material impact on its financial performance, the bank noted. "It is important to emphasise that the value of bitcoin may fluctuate substantially. No investor should buy bitcoin without being aware of the significant risks involved," Governor Michl added.

The move coincides with the launch of CNB Lab, a new innovation hub intended to test technologies that could influence financial market functionality and monetary policy, including blockchain, artificial intelligence, and payment innovations.

"The CNB Lab is intended as a platform to gather experience and insights from testing new technologies and trends," Michl said. "The idea is to gain hands-on experience, build professional capacity and be as well prepared as possible for what the future will bring."

How we got here

The CNB's digital asset pilot follows a series of exploratory steps this year. In January, Governor Michl told the Financial Times he would propose allocating up to 5% of the bank's €140 billion reserves to bitcoin, citing diversification and profitability.

The bank's board later approved a proposal to assess investing in new asset classes, including bitcoin, but deferred any reserve allocation decision. In July, the CNB then disclosed a separate $18 million purchase of Coinbase shares as part of broader diversification efforts under its existing framework.

While the portfolio does not represent a formal shift toward bitcoin-backed reserves, it marks the first confirmed instance of a central bank directly acquiring bitcoin.

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