The Central Bank of Chile recently stated that it could not add bitcoin to its reserves, as this crypto asset fails to comply with the requirements to be included as a bank investment.
Central Bank of Chile Would Not Add Bitcoin to Its Reserves
The debate about bitcoin as a reserve asset and the issue of strategic bitcoin reserves has arrived in Chile. Given the topic’s relevance, the local Chilean press probed the central bank on its opinion to assess the possibility of this happening in Chile at some point in the future.
The Central Bank of Chile outright denied the possibility of adding bitcoin or any cryptocurrency as part of its assets, stating that these did not comply with the requirements issued by organizations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to become foreign reserve assets.
In this sense, the bank stated that “international reserves were destined to maintain the economic and financial stability before external shocks and a changing monetary policy.” Consequently, these must comply with high criteria in the areas of security, liquidity, and quality defined by the IMF to provide central banks “immediate availability with limited impact on the market and efficient access in case they need to be used in periods of crisis.”
The bank states that neither bitcoin nor other cryptocurrencies fulfill the criteria exposed before. Also, there would be legal reasons to block the inclusion of bitcoin or the enactment of a strategic bitcoin reserve.
The charter of the Central Bank of Chile establishes narrow criteria for assets that can be included in its books. The law limits these assets to “gold, securities, negotiable instruments, instruments issued or guaranteed by foreign states, central banks or international financial institutions.”
The bank concluded by stating that it was not in its plans to include an asset switch with such volatility and uncertainty. Meanwhile, Brazil, the Latam giant, has introduced a bill for a strategic bitcoin reserve in Congress, seeking to pioneer this proposal in the region and the world.
Read more: Brazil Introduces Bill to Establish Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
