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Liechtenstein – a small European nation that most people likely wouldn’t even be able to recognize on a map – is suddenly becoming very big in the crypto community. Government regulators have recently issued a statement claiming they’re looking into accepting bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as payment methods for state services.
Liechtenstein Loves Crypto, Apparently
The news came from Prime Minister Daniel Risch. The new program would make it so that all crypto payments delivered for government and national services would immediately be converted into Swiss francs to avoid exchange-rate risks. Right now, the franc is the primary form of currency the country utilizes to stay afloat.
The move is pushing the goals of bitcoin and its digital counterparts closer to being achieved. What many people likely forget is that while bitcoin and many of its crypto cousins have taken on either speculative or even hedge-like statuses in recent years, many of them were initially designed to serve as payment tools. They were built to push checks, credit cards, and fiat currencies to the side, but this has been a relatively slow journey given the volatility that continues to drag them down.
It is extremely hard to understand when bitcoin and its crypto family will go up or down when it comes to their prices. Many stores and companies have been reluctant to say “yes” when it comes to accepting crypto payments for this reason, and to a degree, we can’t blame them.
Consider the following scenario: someone walks into a store and buys $50 worth of merchandise with bitcoin. For one reason or another, the store doesn’t trade the BTC into fiat right away and about 24 hours go by. From there, the price of BTC goes down and that $50 becomes $40. The customer gets to keep everything he or she bought, but the store loses money in the end. Is this a fair situation? Not everyone thinks so.
That’s what makes countries like Liechtenstein so important. They understand the initial purposes of bitcoin and digital currencies and are trying to transform them into usable tools that everyday people can benefit from.
Risch says he and his fellow constituents involved in Liechtenstein matters have long been open to the ideas and principles presented by bitcoin and its altcoin cousins. He also stated that the nation is open to investing state reserves into crypto assets like bitcoin and Ethereum at some point in the future. Liechtenstein is unique in that it’s one of the few nations that has managed to remain fully debt free.
Still Too Much Risk?
Despite the forward steps, Risch was quick to acknowledge that crypto is still risk heavy. He stated:
Crypto assets like bitcoin are currently still too risky, but this assessment can change.
