The Czech bitcoin wallet also opens a legal loophole for the MNB

In October 2025, the Czech National Bank (CNB) purchased a digital asset portfolio consisting of bitcoin, a dollar-based stablecoin and a tokenized deposit for an amount of US$1 million (approximately HUF 330 million), completely separated from official foreign exchange reserves. Although the amount is considered small in terms of the crypto market, this move is all the more remarkable as it is the first time that a European Union central bank has experimented with crypto assets without the input of the European Central Bank (ECB). THE Coin base According to the institutional leader, several national banks in the EU, including even Hungary, could soon follow the Czech example – at the cost of major controversies.

How did the CNB get the chance to test bitcoin?

In short, the Czech central bank has been given leeway with bitcoin (BTC) due to the legal specifics of the derogation (temporary exemption, exemption).


BTC price
for attempts. This means that the Czech Republic is a member of the EU, but has not yet adopted the euro, which means that certain mandatory directives and authorization rules from the ECB apply they do not fully apply to it. As a result, he was given the opportunity to acquire bitcoin reserves, not as part of the official reserves, but as an experimental, educational toolkit. Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden and Bulgaria are also in this hat, so they too would get a chance to experiment with the bitcoin portfolio.

Can Hungary also copy the Czech model?

Technically yes, but politically it would be quite difficult to implement. Compared to the Czech Republic Hungary also enjoys a derogation statusThat is, it is also exempt from certain obligations of the ECB, and so the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB) could also create a separate BTC portfolio. However, a one-to-one adaptation of the Czech model would imply a serious contradiction, based on domestic financial and political communications in recent years:

• Hungarian monetary policy is consistently cautious towards cryptocurrencies. The MNB has repeatedly characterized them as speculative instruments, fraught with regulatory risks and unsuitable for use as money.
• According to government communications, the Hungarian economy could even deviate from the stable and secure financial path due to bitcoin’s volatility; even a small portfolio would become a serious political attack surface.
• The MNB is the representative of strict international regulations, and the Czech model, by exploiting the regulatory loophole, does not fit the narrative of stricter supervision.

What about the other EU countries?

Digital financial innovation is conceivable in Poland and Romania, while Sweden is considered one of the most digital economies in the world a very logical step the Czech model can be implemented. For Bulgaria, however, the loophole will soon be closed when the country joins the eurozone on January 1, 2026. Although Denmark is not a member of the Eurozone, due to its official contractual opt-out (permanent exemption) it belongs to a different legal category, so it does not fall under a legal loophole similar to that of the Czech Republic.

However, the ECB’s strict supervision of the euro area countries remains virtually unchanged keeps every gate closed. BTC is not considered an official reserve, and due to the extremely high capital requirements for crypto assets, a BTC position on central bank balance sheets is virtually not a reality.

Why is the CNB’s step important?

The Czech central bank set a precedent with its BTC experiment in the EU: it proved that it is possible to gain operational and risk management experience in the world of digital assets, even by bypassing the authority of the ECB. Although in theory five additional countries outside the euro area could follow suit, the political reality varies widely from country to country. The question now is not whether it is legally possible, but who will have the courage to take the first steps after the Czech Republic.