- Two members of the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag) submitted a motion proposing a study for the potential creation of a state Bitcoin reserve.
- The proposal frames Bitcoin as “digital gold” to complement Sweden’s gold and FX reserves and seeks to use seized Bitcoin to fund the reserve in a budget-neutral way.
- The motion also asks the government to preclude a Swedish CBDC by not altering the Riksbank Act’s legal-tender definition.
Members of the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag) are examining the potential creation of a state Bitcoin reserve with a designated responsible authority.
The filing, submitted on Oct. 1 by Dennis Dioukarev and David Perez, two Swedish democrats, asks the legislature to instruct the government to run the study and report back with structure, oversight, and custody options.
The motion essentially frames Bitcoin as “digital gold” and could complement Sweden’s gold and FX reserves due to its fixed supply and policy independence. It also asks the government to state it will not alter the Riksbank Act’s legal-tender definition, which would preclude a Swedish CBDC.
Sweden discloses no public Bitcoin holdings. The sponsors outline a budget-neutral path by transferring seized Bitcoin into state custody.
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Keeping Up With Other Countries
The motion puts a lot of emphasis on International context, stating, for instance, that the United States has already moved to create a federal Bitcoin reserve and passed the GENIUS Act, which gives stablecoin issuers a new regulatory framework to follow.
Finland and the United Kingdom hold seized coins, while Poland, Latvia, and the Czech Republic are assessing reserve frameworks.
This raises the question of whether Sweden should formulate a similar strategy to build a strategic Bitcoin reserve, alongside its currency and gold reserves. To do this in a budget-neutral manner, Swedish authorities could be tasked with transferring seized bitcoins to the Sveriges Riksbank or another appropriate authority.
Riksdag
El Salvador and Bhutan already run sovereign reserves. At state level, Texas, Arizona, and New Hampshire have passed laws to accumulate Bitcoin, while countries like Kazakhstan have launched a state-backed crypto reserve with support from Binance’s CZ.
The list may be somewhat longer, but the point is clear. In any case, the Riksdag’s Finance Committee will review the motion later this month.
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