Bitcoin Not to Be ‘Lumped Together’ With Crypto: Czech Central Bank Chief Michl
Ales Michl had previously proposed the Czech National Bank consider bitcoin as a reserve asset.
Feb 19, 2025, 2:27 p.m. UTC
Czech National Bank Governor Ales Michl on Wednesday continued his campaign for possibly adding bitcoin (BTC) to the central bank balance sheet, including encouraging words for those frustrated by the reputational damage inflicted on bitcoin by the broader crypto market.
The crypto market will experience “failures and successes,” wrote Michl in a longish X post. “Bitcoin, however, is a different story. It should not be lumped together with other crypto assets.”
It might not be a coincidence that Michl chose to post this after the events of the past few days in which the already unwholesome memecoin craze reached new levels of grift. This included rugpulls encouraged by Binance founder Changpeng Zhao and Argentine President Javier Milei.
Michl came on the radar of the bitcoin market last month when he submitted a proposal that the Czech National Bank study adding alternative assets — bitcoin among them — to its balance sheet. The proposal was approved by the bank board and Michl reminded today this is only the initial stage of analysis.
“We central bankers should study it and explore the technology [bitcoin] is built on,” Michl said. “Studying bitcoin won’t harm us — on the contrary, it will strengthen us.”
Stephen Alpher
Stephen is CoinDesk’s managing editor for Markets. He previously served as managing editor at Seeking Alpha. A native of suburban Washington, D.C., Stephen went to the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, majoring in finance. He holds BTC above CoinDesk’s disclosure threshold of $1,000.
