Swedish Lawmakers Urge Finance Minister to Explore Bitcoin National Reserve

Hassan, a Cryptonews.com journalist with 6+ years of experience in Web3 journalism, brings deep knowledge across Crypto, Web3 Gaming, NFTs, and Play-to-Earn sectors.

Two Swedish lawmakers have urged the country’s finance minister to seriously consider Bitcoin (BTC) as part of Sweden’s national financial strategy, in the face of a broader regulatory skepticism towards the crypto industry.

In a letter submitted on April 14 to Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson, Member of Parliament Dennis Dioukarev pressed the government on what strategy it plans to adopt for including Bitcoin in Sweden’s foreign exchange reserves.

Today I submitted a question to the swedish minister of finance @ElisabethSvan regarding a strategic bitcoin reserve for the centralbank.

The move builds on a previous request by another lawmaker, Rickard Nordin, who in early April submitted a motion to the Swedish Parliament, urging the government to grant the country’s central bank, the Riksbank, the legal flexibility to invest in Bitcoin.

Their appeal to Svantesson is rooted in Bitcoin’s monetary properties, which they argue are comparable to gold, and its growing use as a financial tool for people facing economic volatility and political oppression.

Both lawmakers suggest that Sweden should begin accumulating Bitcoin through direct policy or a budget-neutral method, such as retaining Bitcoin seized by law enforcement instead of auctioning it off.

However, their calls come as Swedish authorities have been cracking down on crypto exchanges and miners over tax and compliance concerns.

Earlier this year, the Swedish Police Authority and the Financial Intelligence Unit named several crypto exchanges as “professional money launderers” for facilitating illicit cross-border transactions.

The Swedish Tax Agency also disclosed that a majority of the 21 Bitcoin mining operations investigated by the agency between 2020 and 2023 submitted misleading or false tax reports.

Of the 21 Bitcoin mining organizations examined by the Swedish Tax Agency in a recent audit, 18 were found to be engaging in tax fraud.

These findings have made it difficult for the government to trust the sector completely.

This combination of financial irregularities, regulatory gaps, and international pressure to ensure compliance with FATF guidelines has created a cautious climate.

This may partly explain why Sweden has yet to articulate a formal stance on Bitcoin reserves despite the clear political push.

But there are signs that the tide may be turning. In February, Klarna, Sweden’s fintech giant, announced its intention to integrate crypto into its platform ahead of a public listing.

Announcing something fun in the coming days but in the meantime some interesting news. As part of its broader strategy to expand into new markets and introduce innovative products and services, Klarna is planning to add crypto to its offering ahead of its upcoming IPO.

This move showcases the increasing mainstream interest in crypto and how it could factor into broader policy decisions.

It remains to be seen whether Minister Svantesson will heed these recommendations, but the discussion is now part of Sweden’s financial narrative.