The Czech National Bank (CNB) acquired a test portfolio of digital assets that includes Bitcoin on 13 November 2025, marking the first direct Bitcoin purchase by a central bank. The experiment is capped at $1 million and was designed outside international reserves, which limits immediate effects on sovereign asset stability while surfacing operational and regulatory questions for investors and compliance.
The operation is part of a CNB pilot programme to validate end‑to‑end workflows for digital assets. The test portfolio includes mainly Bitcoin, a USD‑denominated stablecoin and a tokenized deposit. A tokenized deposit represents a bank deposit on a blockchain, enabling programmable settlement and traceable position records.
The move initiates a multi‑year pilot to test purchase, custody and management processes for blockchain-based assets, setting a controlled scope for institutional experimentation.
The CNB states the investment does not come from international reserves and “will not be actively increased”. The bank plans to document and share its experience over a 2–3 year horizon. The initiative was pushed by governor Aleš Michl, who in January 2025 advocated studying Bitcoin as a potential reserve asset; while he alluded to larger allocations in general terms, the current setup is a controlled, limited‑scope laboratory.
The decision contrasts with the more cautious stance of the European Central Bank, whose leadership has emphasized volatility and regulatory challenges around cryptocurrencies. The CNB’s autonomy outside the Eurosystem was decisive in enabling this experiment.
The operational future of the CNB
Operationally, the pilot will test key management and custody, accounting for digital assets, auditing, KYC/AML procedures and crisis simulation, aiming to establish reproducible practices before any larger sovereign exposure is considered.
For product managers, the pilot underscores the need for institutional‑grade custody designs with granular access controls, multi‑party approvals and key recovery mechanisms that align with central‑bank security standards.
For compliance and AML teams, it highlights robust procedures that integrate on‑chain traceability with off‑chain controls, ensuring that monitoring, reporting and counterparty vetting meet regulatory expectations.
For institutional investors, the CNB’s process can create operational precedents that lower entry barriers if documentation yields replicable governance, accounting and audit frameworks.
For regulation, the test may catalyze debates on accounting classification and reserve treatment, informing how digital assets are recognized and managed in sovereign and institutional balance sheets.
The CNB will publish findings over the 2–3 year testing period; that milestone will indicate whether the operational experience reduces the legal and technical frictions that currently limit institutional adoption of digital assets.
