Czech National Bank launches $1m crypto portfolio pilot

The Czech National Bank, the central bank of the Czech Republic, has established a $1 million digital asset portfolio pilot, with plans to hold Bitcoin, a stablecoin, and a tokenized asset.

The Czech National Bank announced on Nov. 13 that it would create a $1 million test portfolio for digital assets, calling it the first such move in history.

CNB’s pilot will include Bitcoin ( BTC ), a U.S. dollar stablecoin, and a tokenized deposit, with these purchases receiving the Bank Board’s seal of approval on October 30. 

“The Czech National Bank (CNB) has purchased digital assets for the first time in its history. The purchase was made outside its existing international reserves,” the bank noted.

Czech National Bank buys Bitcoin

According to details, adding Bitcoin and other digital assets to the central bank’s balance sheet is a historic move. It comes amid the realization that the institutions are increasingly embracing digital assets as investments. With future adoption across the global financial ecosystem on the cards, the CNB believes this is the time to test and learn. 

Specifically, the Czech central bank wants to use the portfolio as a test project to gain practical experience with blockchain-based processes, including holding digital assets. 

With BTC, a USD stablecoin, and a tokenized asset, the CNB has a portfolio structure that allows it to compare various types of digital assets. It also means the bank’s staff can learn about different properties, including settlement, trading, and auditing. The pilot eyes an in-house expertise framework that can be tapped into to pass learnt knowledge to other teams.

“I came up with the idea of creating a test portfolio in January 2025. The aim was to test decentralised bitcoin from the central bank’s perspective and to evaluate its potential role in diversifying our reserves,” said CNB governor Aleš Michl.

The public will get details of the pilot updates and CNB’s experience as the project proceeds, and an overall assessment in about two to three years.

However, there are no plans to increase the $1 million investment actively.  The CNB does not also intend to add Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies to its international reserves.