A French Parliament member signs petition for Lawmakers to Allow Central Bank to Acquire and Hold Bitcoin

By: Dickson Arinze

March 15, 2021 10:43 AM

A member of the French parliament has just signed a petition that modifies the law to allow the central bank of France to acquire and possess bitcoin as well as a host of other crypto assets.

The petition warned that if France didn't start buying bitcoin it will put the nation in a weak position in the next 5-10 years, it also urges lawmakers to urgently evaluate the matter in other to address the looming issue.

In a tweet on Friday, Jean-Michel Mis a member of the French National Assembly announced that he has signed a petition in a bid to amend the current laws to encourage the nation's central bank (Banque De France) to buy and hold cryptocurrencies along with Bitcoin.

The petition started on March 5 by François-Xavier Marie Jean Elder Thorens, will go on for six months and is set to end by September 5. A minimum of 100,000 signatures is needed within the said duration to be forwarded to the Conference of Presidents, which will determine if the matter would be considered. At press time over 500 signatures have been lodged already.

The petition also draws light to other major BTC holders like MicroStrategy and Tesla. It even illustrates Miami’s plan to add Bitcoin to the city’s balance sheet as proposed by Mayor Francis Sanchez.

However, an important reason given is the risk of the dollar devaluation over the next 5 years destroying the medium-term financing potentials.

The petition illustrates that France cannot remain as a spectator of a race which has already started. It is urgent to consider the matter as not owning bitcoin would put France in a financially weak position in the next 10 years or less.

According to the  petition, lawmakers would have to embrace a plan that will assess the risk associated with cryptocurrencies correctly and propose an adequate crypto asset holding ratio.