The Czech Republic has surprised many in Europe by testing bitcoin inside its national treasury. Even though the test is only worth $1 million, it has created a lot of interest across the Eurozone.

The Czech National Bank recently announced that it had created a $1 million digital asset portfolio that includes bitcoin, a U.S. dollar stablecoin, and a tokenized bank deposit. The bank kept these assets separate from its official reserves, which allowed it to avoid European Central Bank (ECB) restrictions. The goal is not to make money, but to learn how digital assets work inside a central bank.

John D’Agostino, Coinbase’s Head of Institutional Strategy, said he believes several countries are now watching this development closely, and some may try something similar. He explained in a December 10 interview why the Czech decision is more important than it looks. While the amount is small, he said what matters most is who is doing it.

He believes this idea is “contagious” and could inspire other European countries to follow, adding:

One reason this experiment stands out is that the Czech Republic is known for economic stability. D’Agostino pointed out that this was not like previous examples, such as El Salvador. “We are a stable Eurozone country. we don’t have to do this,” he said, meaning the Czech Republic isn’t turning to Bitcoin out of desperation.

Even though the Czech Republic is not technically part of the Eurozone, it is an EU member with access to EU funding. That makes its decision even more interesting to other European governments.

The Czech Republic’s ability to run this pilot comes from its special legal position. It has “derogation status,” meaning it is part of the European System of Central Banks but not part of the euro-using Eurosystem.

Five other EU countries share this same status: Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden, and Bulgaria. These countries could use the same legal path to test bitcoin without needing formal approval from the ECB.

This supports D’Agostino’s idea that more European countries might soon experiment with Bitcoin. Even though he mistakenly referred to the Czech Republic as a “Eurozone country,” the legal details show why its approach is possible and not very problematic for the country.

D’Agostino says the key thing about the Czech pilot is the official and professional way it was carried out. The bank used a traditional process—issuing RFPs, choosing vendors, and making internal rules—just as it would for any other major project. But for D’Agostino, what matters isn’t the amount, it's who is making the move and the reason behind it.