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(Kitco News) -
Liechtenstein is planning to add bitcoin (BTC) as a payment option for government services, according to a report from German news outlet Handelsblatt published Sunday.
Prime Minister Daniel Risch said that any Bitcoin the government receives through payments would most likely be exchanged for Swiss francs immediately to avoid exchange rate risks. Liechtenstein's national currency is the Swiss franc.
Risch, who also serves as the country's minister of finance, did not offer a timeline for adding the payment option.
He added that BTC remains too volatile for Liechtenstein to consider holding a portion of the country's multi-billion-dollar annual savings in the cryptocurrency.
“Crypto like bitcoin are currently still too risky,” Risch said. “But this assessment can change.”
Jeff Mei, COO of BTSE, a centralized cryptocurrency exchange that recently secured approval to register under Liechtenstein’s digital assets laws, told Kitco News that the Prime Minister’s comments are a clear demonstration of their commitment to crypto development.
“The recent comments from Liechtenstein Prime Minister Daniel Risch mark another notable step in the right direction, and a clear signal of the region’s confidence in crypto,” Mei said. “We have seen first-hand how regulators in the region recognize and are planning for the inevitable mass adoption of cryptocurrency.”
Mei said he was pleased that European authorities are “working proactively” to find ways of leveraging blockchain technologies and digital assets to benefit their financial systems, instead of “blocking innovation and missing out on the opportunity.”
According to Mei, the successful passage of the EU’s MiCA legislation regulating digital assets last month makes Liechtenstein’s example even more poignant.
“It seems there is a crypto summer blooming in Europe, at least,” he said.
