A member of Sweden’s parliament proposed adding Bitcoin to the country’s foreign exchange reserves, suggesting increased openness to cryptocurrency adoption in Europe following recent moves by the United States.
Swedish MP Rickard Nordin issued an open letter urging Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson to consider adopting Bitcoin (BTC) as a national reserve asset.
“Sweden has a tradition of a conservative and carefully managed foreign exchange reserve, mainly consisting of foreign currencies and gold,” Nordin wrote in a letter registered on April 8, adding:
“At the same time, there is a rapid development in digital assets, and several international players regard bitcoin as a custodian and a hedge against inflation. In many parts of the world, bitcoin is used as a means of payment and as security against rising inflation.”
“It is also an important way for freedom fighters to handle payments when under the oppression of authoritarian regimes,” he added.
Open letter from MP Rickard Nordin. Source: Riksdagen.se
Related: US Bitcoin reserve marks’ real step’ toward global financial integration
The Swedish proposal echoes a recent move by the United States. In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a national Bitcoin reserve funded by cryptocurrency seized in criminal investigations rather than purchased through market channels.
The order authorized the Treasury and Commerce secretaries to develop “budget-neutral strategies” to buy more Bitcoin for the reserve, provided there were no additional costs to taxpayers.
The governor of the Czech National Bank has also considered Bitcoin as part of a potential diversification strategy for the country’s foreign reserves, Cointelegraph reported on Jan. 7.
Related: Bitcoin reserve backlash signals unrealistic industry expectations
European lawmakers silent on Bitcoin legislation amid CBDC push
European lawmakers have remained mostly silent on Bitcoin legislation, despite Trump’s historic executive order and Bitcoin’s economic model favoring the early adopters.
The lack of Bitcoin-related statements may stem from Europe’s focus on the launch of the digital euro, a central bank digital currency (CBDC), James Wo, the founder and CEO of venture capital firm DFG, told Cointelegraph, adding:
“This highlights the EU’s greater emphasis on the digital euro, though the recent outage in the ECB’s Target 2 (T2) payment system, which caused significant transaction delays, raised concerns about its ability to oversee a digital currency when it struggles with daily operations.”
ECB President Christine Lagarde is pushing ahead with the digital euro’s rollout, expected in October. Lagarde has emphasized that the CBDC will coexist with cash and offer privacy protections to address concerns about government overreach.
“The European Union is looking to launch the digital euro, our central bank digital currency, by October this year,” Lagarde said during a news conference, adding:
“We are working to ensure that the digital euro coexists with cash, addressing privacy concerns by making it pseudonymous and cash-like in nature.”
Source: Cointelegraph
This is in stark contrast to the approach of the US, where Trump has taken a firm stance against CBDCs, prohibiting “the establishment, issuance, circulation, and use” of a US dollar-based CBDC.
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