Czech central bank buys $1 million in bitcoin, other crypto assets for testing

The Czech National Bank (CNB) made its first-ever purchase of digital assets, creating a $1 million test portfolio to study the operational and regulatory implications of blockchain-based investments.

Per an X post from the bank, the purchase was made outside its international reserves and approved by the Bank Board on Oct. 30. The test portfolio includes bitcoin, an unnamed U.S. dollar stablecoin, and a tokenized deposit. The CNB said the portfolio’s size would not be actively increased and that the purpose is to gain hands-on experience with digital assets and related processes.

“The aim was to test decentralized bitcoin from the central bank’s perspective and to evaluate its potential role in diversifying our reserves,” CNB Governor Aleš Michl said in a statement. “We will inform the public about our experience on an ongoing basis and present an overall assessment in approximately two to three years.”

Michl proposed the pilot project in January 2025. The CNB said the analysis leading to the decision found that digital assets are becoming increasingly integrated into institutional portfolios and may gain wider acceptance over time. The bank emphasized, however, that it has no plans to include bitcoin or other digital assets in its international reserves in the near future.

The CNB said the portfolio will allow it to test the full chain of operational steps involved in holding digital assets, including technical key management, multi-level approval, security protocols, and anti-money laundering compliance.

“New ways of paying and investing will emerge rapidly in the years ahead. As a central bank, we want to test this path.” Michl said.

The experiment is designed to compare different types of blockchain-based instruments, such as bitcoin and tokenized deposits, to understand their technical and accounting treatment. The CNB said it will also study how to record and audit such holdings and how to settle transactions securely.

“The value of bitcoin may fluctuate substantially. No investor should buy bitcoin without being aware of the significant risks involved,” Michl added.

Alongside the portfolio, the CNB launched a new initiative called the “CNB Lab,” an internal innovation hub to test emerging technologies that could influence financial markets and central banking. The project will explore applications of blockchain, artificial intelligence tools, and instant payment systems.

The central bank also published Analysis of Possible Investment in Other Asset Classes: Part I – Digital Assets alongside the announcement.

The CNB reiterated that the investment does not represent a policy shift and that the country’s foreign exchange reserves remain unchanged.