The head of the Czech National Bank will soon talk about why they are diversifying their reserves with Bitcoin

Aleš Michl has been officially confirmed as a speaker at Bitcoin 2026, where he will deliver a keynote titled “Diversifying Central Bank Reserves With Bitcoin” on April 28 at 10:20 a.m. PT on the Nakamoto Stage at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas. Michl serves as the governor of the Czech National Bank (CNB) – and his presence at the event marks a significant moment as he becomes the first central bank governor to speak at the Bitcoin conference.

In January 2025, Michl proposed allocating up to 5% of the CNB’s €140 billion reserves to Bitcoin, citing its low correlation with traditional assets like bonds as a key factor that makes it an attractive diversification option. The proposal attracted international attention and backlash. The proposal attracted international attention, which received pushback from central bank elites. Like from the President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, who publicly stated that she was convinced that Bitcoin would never, ever enter the reserves of any EU central banks. Although the Czech Republic does not use the euro, Michl has shown little sign of being moved by the criticism.

In November 2025, the CNB made its first ever purchase of digital assets – a $1 million test portfolio that included Bitcoin, a US dollar-based stablecoin and a tokenized deposit, built inside the CNB Lab to test the operational realities of holding blockchain-based instruments from the central bank’s perspective. Michl framed it as an exercise in preparedness rather than speculation. “The goal was to test decentralized bitcoin from the perspective of the central bank and to evaluate its potential role in diversifying our reserves,” he said. “We will inform the public about our experience on an ongoing basis and present an assessment in two to three years.”

His Bitcoin 2026 keynote will offer a rare perspective from inside a sitting central banker — one who has moved from discussion to actual Bitcoin purchases and is seeing how the broader global monetary system is beginning to respond. Bitcoin 2026 takes place 27-29 April at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas.