Swiss Bitcoin Reserve Campaign Withdrawn After 50,000-Signature Shortfall

Swiss campaigners officially withdrew their 18-month initiative on May 9, 2026, to mandate the Swiss National Bank hold Bitcoin reserves, after collecting only ~50,000 of the required 100,000 signatures for a referendum. The SNB has consistently rejected cryptocurrencies citing extreme volatility, insufficient liquidity, and preference for gold, USD, and euros. Bitcoin trades around $80,400, down 7.5% YTD in 2026 and 36% below its 2025 ATH, reinforcing central bank caution amid limited experiments like Czech NB's $1M crypto buy. The failure tempers near-term sovereign adoption hopes with muted market impact.