The Czech National Bank will consider holding billions of dollars worth of bitcoin in its reserves, Governor Ales Michl said on Wednesday, potentially the first shift into the cryptocurrency by a western central bank if it went ahead. Michl said the idea was still under analysis and no immediate decision was forthcoming. Central banks traditionally park reserves in more conservative assets and some have warned about the risks of using cryptocurrencies in public coffers. Since taking the helm of the Czech central bank in 2022, Michl has led a drive to diversify the bank’s hefty reserves through the gradual gold purchases and shifting a bigger share of the portfolio into equities to create sustained profits. He plans to present the consideration of including bitcoin to the bank’s seven-strong board on Thursday, he told the Financial Times in an interview published on Wednesday. If approved, the bank could eventually hold as much as 5% of its 140 billion euro ($146 billion) reserves in bitcoin, he said. In a later post on X, Michl added more analysis and discussion was still needed before any decision. “No decision is imminent,” he said. “Bitcoin has significant volatility, which makes it harder to take advantage […]