Key Takeaways
- Swedish MP Rickard Nordin proposed adding Bitcoin to the national reserve.
- The proposal was inspired by a March executive order from former U.S. President Donald Trump.
- The EU continues to prioritize its digital euro over Bitcoin policy discussions.
Rickard Nordin, a member of Sweden’s parliament, has proposed the addition of Bitcoin to the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
In an open letter dated April 8 to Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson, Nordin described the move as “budget-neutral,” emphasizing that it would not incur extra costs for taxpayers.
Nordin, noting the evolving global role of Bitcoin, wrote:
Sweden has a tradition of a conservative and carefully managed foreign exchange reserve. In many parts of the world, bitcoin is used as a means of payment and as security against rising inflation.
Nordin also framed Bitcoin as a tool for human rights, saying it provides an option for…
… freedom fighters to handle payments when under the oppression of authoritarian regimes.
Inspired by U.S. Bitcoin reserve executive order
The Swedish proposal comes a month after former U.S. President Donald Trump signed a March 7 executive order to build a national Bitcoin reserve using confiscated assets.
The order tasked the Treasury and Commerce Departments with forming strategies that would not add to the federal budget.
Bitcoin remains absent from broader EU policy discussions
European Union officials have largely avoided discussion of Bitcoin in favor of a digital euro.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to launching a central bank digital currency by October, stating the digital euro will be…
… pseudonymous and cash-like.
Meanwhile, outages in the ECB’s payment infrastructure have raised questions about its readiness for digital asset management.
