The Czech National Bank (CNB) has created a "test portfolio" of digital assets worth $1 million, including Bitcoin, U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins and a tokenized dollar deposit.
This is not part of the CNB’s official international reserves and is more like an experimental account for learning purposes.
Historic move
Central banks typically do not hold crypto directly because of its volatility and regulatory uncertainty.
CNB’s move is notable because it is the first central bank within the European Union to experiment with digital assets.
As reported by U.Today, the idea of diversifying central bank assets with Bitcoin was first introduced by CNB Governor Aleš Michl in early 2025.
With the latest move, the CNB wants to gain practical experience with blockchain-based assets.
They aim to prepare for future changes in the financial system, including tokenization, digital payments and new forms of assets.
So, it is essentially supposed to be a sandbox for central bankers to learn how to deal with crypto.
The $1 million Bitcoin purchase is tiny relative to the CNB’s total assets (0.0006%), so this is not a risky bet.
The project will be reviewed in 2-3 years, meaning that the portfolio will not be increased.
In the future, this experience might allow the CNB to hold tokenized bonds, digital assets or even Bitcoin ETFs in a more official capacity if regulations and technology evolve favorably.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov
U.Today Editorial Team