The popular initiative on Bitcoin reserves
The Russia sanctions and the crypto industry
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the sanctions that followed affected the crypto industry as well. Switzerland adopted the European Union's sanctions packages, which prohibited the provision of crypto wallet, account and custody services to Russian persons above a threshold and later without any threshold.1 Several projects and companies in Zug had founders, developers or clients from Russia and other states of the former Soviet Union. They had to review their client bases and in some cases end relationships. Part I examines the relations between Zug and the East in detail, including the crypto dimension.
The popular initiative on Bitcoin reserves
The political debate about crypto-assets reached the instruments of direct democracy. In December 2024, a committee around the French-speaking crypto entrepreneur Yves Bennaïm launched the federal popular initiative "For a financially strong, sovereign and responsible Switzerland (Bitcoin Initiative)". It sought to amend Art. 99 para. 3 of the Federal Constitution so that the Swiss National Bank would have to hold part of its currency reserves in Bitcoin as well as in gold.2 The National Bank rejected the proposal repeatedly, since in its view the volatility of Bitcoin and the insufficient liquidity of its market were incompatible with the requirements for currency reserves. The initiative failed at the collection stage. In May 2026, the committee acknowledged publicly that it was far from the required number of signatures, and the collection period of eighteen months ended on 30 June 2026 without the initiative having been submitted.3 The episode shows that the crypto industry has become a political actor in Switzerland, although its ability to mobilise voters remains limited. For Zug, it confirms that crypto-assets remain controversial in Swiss public opinion, even in a country whose authorities have been open to the technology.
Notes
- CoinDesk, "EU's Russian Crypto Ban Confirmed as Bloc Tightens Sanctions", 6 October 2022, coindesk.com: the EU replaced the April 2022 limit of EUR 10,000 with a ban on all crypto-asset wallet, account or custody services irrespective of amount; White & Case, "Switzerland implements the remaining measures set out in the EU's 8th sanction package", whitecase.com: complete ban under the Ordinance on Measures in connection with the Situation in Ukraine, removing the previous threshold of CHF 10,000, in force 23 November 2022. ↩
- Reuters, "Swiss central bank faces call to hold bitcoin in reserves", 31 December 2024 (via marketscreener.com): initiative published by the Federal Chancellery on 31 December 2024, 18 months to collect 100,000 signatures. ↩
- Initiative committee, public statement of May 2026 that the required 100,000 signatures would not be reached; expiry of the collection period on 30 June 2026 without submission (status as communicated to the author, September 2026). ↩
For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of October 2026.