Germany’s 2nd largest party pushes for Bitcoin reserve

Alternative for Germany or AfD, the second-largest party in the government, has introduced a motion to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve following a similar move by France.

On Oct. 29, the Alternative for Germany party, the second-largest opposition in the Bundestag, introduced a motion to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve to hedge against inflation and currency volatility. If the motion moves forward, it could mark a turning point for BTC adoption, considering Germany is the largest economy in Europe.

Users were quick to celebrate the news after it went viral, claiming that Germany was getting closer to acknowledging BTC (BTC)’s potential as a valuable asset in the global financial system.

However, many have also pointed out how the government made a mistake in selling their BTC holdings back when the crypto asset was still valued at $54,000.

“When politicians start talking about Bitcoin reserves, you know we’ve officially left the “magic internet money” phase,” said one X user.

“They sold 50k BTC just at $54k, since then it has been doubled, they missed profit of over $3.5B,” said another user.

In the past, the right-wing populist party AfD has been more vocal about their pro-crypto stance compared to other mainstream parties.

Earlier this week, a recent AfD parliamentary motion titled “Strategisches Potenzial von Bitcoin erkennen – Freiheit bewahren durch Zurückhaltung in der Besteuerung und Regulierung” urging the government to recognize Bitcoin’s potential. It also posited the idea of BTC becoming a “reserve asset.”

The party argued that BTC should be treated differently to other crypto‐assets, suggesting that holders of the asset should be granted tax‐free status after 12 months. Mainly, the party has voiced its concerns about the EU over‐regulating BTC wallets and services.

However, the AfD has also said that it views BTC as a “stateless money” and opposed the creation of a European digital euro.

In June 2024, Germany reportedly sold nearly 50,000 BTC that was seized by law enforcement from past criminal cases. Back then, the price of Bitcoin was still valued at around $57,900 per Bitcoin. If the government had held onto the seized BTC, it would have been worth $5.6 billion at current market prices.

Will Germany join the strategic Bitcoin reserve race?

The motion put forth by Alternative for Germany comes only a day after the UDR party led by Éric Ciotti in the French Parliament reportedly introduced a bill to establish a strategic BTC reserve. The proposed bill consists of a plan to accumulate 2% of the total BTC supply, which is equal to around 420,000 BTC within the next 7-8 years.

In addition, it would raise funds for the reserve through public mining, asset seizure and a savings plan fund allocation. Similar to AfD, the proposal also opposed the creation of the EU’s digital euro and instead proposed a tax exemption for a daily payment limited at 200 euros.

However, analysts were skeptical that the bill could receive support, considering UDR only holds 16 out of 577 seats in the French Parliament.

Most recently, Switzerland parliament member Samuel Kullmann claimed that he was currently working towards getting Bitcoin into the Switzerland constitution. In a campaign that he has been running since early this year, Kullmann aims to get the central bank to start holding BTC on its balance sheet.

According to data from Bitcoin Treasuries, the only European states to hold BTC are United Kingdom and Finland. BTC holdings for Germany and Bulgaria are currently listed as zero.