- Czech National Bank Governor Aleš Michl will deliver a keynote at Bitcoin 2026 on diversifying central bank reserves with Bitcoin.
- The CNB became the first central bank to hold Bitcoin on its balance sheet after buying $1 million in a test portfolio last November.
- The ECB has explicitly ruled out Bitcoin for European reserves, setting up a rare public policy clash within the EU.
The governor of a European central bank is about to explain why he bought Bitcoin—in Las Vegas, at a crypto conference, while the continent’s top monetary authority says that’s a terrible idea. Aleš Michl, who runs the Czech National Bank, confirmed he will deliver a keynote at Bitcoin 2026, running April 27–29, titled “Diversifying Central Bank Reserves With Bitcoin.”
The speech is the culmination of a 15-month campaign by Michl to position the CNB as the world’s first central bank to treat Bitcoin as a legitimate reserve asset. In January 2025, the CNB board approved a proposal to assess Bitcoin for its foreign exchange reserves, which total roughly $145 billion. By November, the bank had purchased $1 million in Bitcoin as a test portfolio—the first time any central bank had put Bitcoin on its balance sheet.
Michl’s thesis is straightforward: Bitcoin’s low correlation with traditional assets like bonds and gold makes it a useful diversification tool. He has reportedly considered allocating up to 5% of reserves into Bitcoin, which would amount to roughly $7 billion at current valuations. The CNB also bought Coinbase shares alongside the test portfolio, signaling a broader bet on crypto infrastructure.
The ECB Bitcoin Disagreement
The Czech Republic is an EU member, and the European Central Bank has been unambiguous about its position. ECB President Christine Lagarde explicitly ruled out Bitcoin for European central bank reserves in January 2026, citing regulatory concerns and price volatility. The clash is unusual—EU member states are expected to broadly align with ECB policy guidance, even if the Czech Republic retains its own currency and isn’t in the eurozone.
Michl doesn’t seem to care. His keynote at a Las Vegas crypto conference is about as far from ECB orthodoxy as a central banker can get without changing careers entirely. The framing—explaining the decision at a Bitcoin event rather than a central banking forum—suggests Michl sees himself more as a pioneer than a bureaucrat.
The CNB’s move fits into a broader global pattern of reserve diversification. Multiple countries across five continents have been exploring Bitcoin or crypto-adjacent reserves, from Sweden’s lawmakers pushing for a national Bitcoin reserve to Luxembourg’s sovereign wealth fund investing 1% in Bitcoin. The UAE has called BTC a “key pillar in future finance.”
Whether the $1 million test portfolio scales into a multi-billion-dollar allocation will depend on what Michl tells his own board—and whether Bitcoin’s volatility cooperates. The CNB’s foreign exchange reserves are dominated by euros and dollars. Adding Bitcoin to that mix would be a first for any central bank at scale, and the Bitcoin 2026 audience will be watching for any hint that the $7 billion figure is more than theoretical.