Czech National Bank Opens Formal Study of Bitcoin for Reserve Diversification
Czech National Bank Governor Aleš Michl proposed studying a small Bitcoin test portfolio, and the board authorized analysis of additional reserve asset classes. The board did not approve a Bitcoin purchase in January, but the decision opened a formal path that later led to a test portfolio containing Bitcoin.
Czech National Bank Governor Aleš Michl brought Bitcoin into formal reserve-management discussion in late January by proposing that the central bank examine whether a small portion of its reserves could be used for a Bitcoin test portfolio.
The board did not approve buying Bitcoin at the January meeting. Instead, it authorized analysis of additional asset classes as part of reserve diversification. That distinction is important: the historical stage was formal institutional study, not reserve adoption.
The proposal attracted global attention because central-bank reserve portfolios are normally dominated by sovereign bonds, gold, cash and other highly liquid conventional assets. Even considering Bitcoin in that context represented a significant expansion of the asset's institutional policy frontier.
The later history confirms the importance of the January stage. In November 2025, the Czech National Bank created a $1 million test portfolio that included Bitcoin. January therefore stands as the formal origin of a central-bank experiment that eventually moved from study to execution.