Czech Central Bank Governor to Defend Bitcoin Reserve Plan
Czech National Bank Governor Aleš Michl will defend his proposal to allocate 5% of the bank's reserves to Bitcoin at the Bitcoin 2026 conference in Las Vegas, becoming the first central bank governor to speak at the event.
Key Takeaway
A major central bank is publicly testing Bitcoin reserves despite ECB opposition — institutional adoption accelerates.
Czech National Bank Governor Aleš Michl will take the stage at Bitcoin 2026 to explain why his institution bought Bitcoin — making him the first central bank governor to speak at the conference.
His keynote is scheduled for April 28 at 10:20 AM PT on the Nakamoto Stage, four months after the CNB made its first-ever digital asset purchase. The bank bought a ₱60.04 million ($1 million) test portfolio in November 2025, months after Michl proposed allocating up to 5% of the bank's reserves to Bitcoin. With total reserves of €140 billion, that 5% would translate to a ₱420.25 billion ($7 billion) Bitcoin position.
The move drew immediate criticism from European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, who said she was confident Bitcoin would never enter reserves of any EU central banks. But Michl pressed ahead anyway, saying the goal was to test decentralized Bitcoin from a central bank perspective and evaluate its potential role in diversifying reserves. The proposal cited Bitcoin's low correlation with traditional assets like bonds as a key factor making it attractive.
The test portfolio was built inside CNB Lab, the bank's internal research facility. Michl said the bank will present a full assessment in two to three years.
Bitcoin 2026 runs April 27-29 at The Venetian Resort, with over 500 speakers expected. Last year's Las Vegas conference drew 35,000 attendees, up from 22,000 in Nashville the year before.
This article was written based on reporting from Bitcoin Magazine.
