Swiss National Bank

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is Switzerland's central bank, founded in 1907 and unusual among major central banks in being a publicly traded company, with shares listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. It conducts monetary policy for the Swiss franc and holds 1,040 tonnes of gold, among the largest official reserves in the world.

Why it matters

The SNB's history tracks the world's retreat from gold. The franc was long the hardest major currency, with a constitutional requirement of 40% gold backing that survived until a 2000 revision, decades after the rest of the world abandoned convertibility. The bank then sold over 1,500 tonnes during the 2000s, near multi-decade price lows. In 2014, the Save Our Swiss Gold referendum, which would have required 20% of reserves in gold and banned further sales, was rejected by 77% of voters after vigorous SNB opposition. The bank is also known for enormous currency interventions, having built a balance sheet that at its peak exceeded Swiss GDP, invested partly in foreign equities including large US technology stocks.

In the gold vs bitcoin debate

The SNB features in both camps' arguments. Gold advocates note that even the most gold-friendly nation was steered off backing by its central bank, evidence that fiat managers resist restraint. Bitcoiners cite the repeated public campaigns urging the SNB to hold bitcoin in reserve, proposals its leadership has consistently rejected on volatility and liquidity grounds, as a live test of whether central banks will ever treat bitcoin as they treat gold.