“#Bitcoin Update:

I’ll start broadly: if you intend to invest in crypto assets, exercise extreme caution. The market is still in its infancy. I remember the 1990s in our country, when the transition from socialism to capitalism saw the birth and simultaneous collapse of many investment funds. The crypto asset market will experience similar failures and successes. So, only invest money in things you understand and are willing to accept the risk of potentially losing your entire investment.

#Bitcoin, however, is a different story. It should not be lumped together with other crypto assets. We central bankers should study it and explore the technology it is built on. Studying bitcoin won’t harm us—on the contrary, it will strengthen us.

At the CNB Bank Board meeting on 30 January 2025, I tabled a proposal to analyse the possibility of creating a bitcoin test portfolio. This step is motivated by a desire to learn about and try out this highly risky alternative asset. I emphasised the need to adapt to changing conditions in the financial markets and to explore new reserve management options.

I stated that bitcoin is highly volatile and could one day be worth one of two extremes – either zero or a huge amount. I also stressed that bitcoin is a high-risk asset for professional investors who are aware of all the risks.

The Bank Board approved a proposal to analyse the options for investing in additional asset classes. Based on the results of the analysis, the Bank Board will then decide how to proceed further. No changes will be implemented in this area until then.

It is important to emphasise that this is the initial stage of the analysis and discussion. The final decision will depend on the outcome of the analysis and the subsequent decision of the Bank Board.”

Ales Michl @MICHLiq_

Guvernér Ceské národní banky/Governor of the Czech National Bank today via X

Czech National Bank

I'm not generally a fan of Mike Pence, but his writing on the Presidency is both prescient and insightful. Worth reading regardless of your beliefs or ideology.

"The president is not our teacher, our tutor, our guide or ruler. He does not command us; we command him. We serve neither him nor his vision. It is not his job or his prerogative to redefine custom, law, and beliefs; to appropriate industries; to seize the country, as it were, by the shoulders or by the throat so as to impose by force of theatrical charisma his justice upon 300 million others. It is neither his job nor his prerogative to shift the power of decision away from them, and to him and the acolytes of his choosing."