Bitcoin Forum

Crypto is growing in popularity each day, bringing the attention of mainstream governments and banks worldwide. Some governments have already imposed regulations towards the crypto/Blockchain industry, while others are still undecided. I've heard that some US states allowed citizens to pay their taxes with crypto. I'm not sure if they still allow this, but it brings convenience to crypto "hodlers". Imagine being able to pay with crypto for a birth certificate, driver's license, and even bail predetermined by courts.

Do you think governments around the world will allow people to pay with crypto for their services? Or is it still too early to tell? Will accepting crypto payments directly, increase people's confidence into crypto/Blockchain tech? If not, why? Your input will be greatly appreciated. Thanks :)

For this one here, it is still pretty early to speak about using cryptocurrency to deal with governements. You've stated above that some govs are neutral when it comes to speaking about cryptocurrency. If the US allowed some sort of people to pay using crypto, it might be because of the will of the gov to own more bitcoin. I'm afraid that some countries won't allow using Bitcoin to pay right now. Let this for the future.

People can't pay their taxes directly with crypto in the United States. They use an intermediary like BitPay to convert Bitcoin to fiat.

I would use crypto to pay for government services only if I mixed my coins first so they are not able to link my transaction history with my personal identity.

Governments are generally quite slow in adopting new tech, so things like adopting crypto are more of an exception rather than the norm that it to be expected. We actually don't see any significant progress in crypto adoption for payments by anyone at all. Government adoption will only come after mainstream adoption, which also assumes proper and full regulation, and we don't even have that still.


If governments were to accept crypto today, that would have convinced some of the nocoiners that crypto is not some scam, but if it will happen later, then it won't matter, because people would already believe in crypto.

I know many supershops and restaurants have started accepting crypto payments,
this year some universities and colleges have announced that they will take their students' salaries through online cryptocurrency.
Universities in many countries, including the UK, USA and Germany, have issued such notices.
However, I have not yet heard of the use of cryptocurrency in any government work, If cryptocurrency is used in government work, I think it will play a big role in bitcoin adoption.

Obviously it is a great news for cryptocurrency lover but may be we are thinking so early. If it really happens then it must be appreciated. In my country, government is not willingly want to adopt it rather than government banned it here and if anyone do any transaction through cryptocurrency, s/he will be punished. However, I didn't find anything authentic to claim it.

I'm not quite sure if that's a good idea for me I think it's impossible since government and bank is the opposite of the cryptocurrency and the decentralized coins market. I really don't think government will accept such volatile payments.

Yes, it is possible like bitcoin where some hospitals are already accepting bitcoin as mode of payment. Most likely a crypto that will be acceptable in government system are those stable coins like the USDT and others whicha has stable in value pinned to a fiat currency like USD. Well, there is no bad about it because crypto are now considered as digital.currency and has value when one use fiat to buy crypto and then exchange it vice versa.

not possible but probably may be possible if the cryptocurrency was created by them and probably those coin were centralized but I don't think they will going to accept cryptocurrency such bitcoin.

It is very very difficult for a government to implement a payment structure for their services in crypto. I am not saying anything about technical difficulty, but it's more of a political and bureaucratic difficulty. Money is a power and it's a political system rather than a financial system. The governments around the world uses various measures like interest rate, demonetization etc. to control the money supply in the hands of the citizens. With crypto, they simply can't use such measure and that's one major reason why the governments are reluctant to adopt crypto systems.

So I don't think there is a possibility for us to pay for government services using cryptocurrency anytime soon or even in future! It's just something that governments can't cope with! 

I honestly doubt that's gonna happen but maybe we gonna see some services from third party allowing us to pay for government services using these services provided by third party as intermediaries which automatically convert the btc or crypto that was sent to the official currency of a country. It's sort of the crypto payment gateway that we've seen available in many online store.

We are constantly discussing this. As far as I know, Sweden will be a pioneer in digital currencies. All states will make their own cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin's power will decrease. I think these will happen  :-\

I think it is too early to think about paying crypto for government services. In fact, I don't think they will allow it soon. First of all, they will have to understand blockchain tech as most of the politicians here are not educated and explaining blockchain to them is like finding stars in the sky.

I think it is possible if most countries have a set of regulations in terms of crypto services and use. But for now, the problem is the regulatory issues that have not yet settled or impose. And most of the country's crypto services are just probationary ruled and imposed by their own financial regulatory bodies like the Central Banks, So I think it's not yet possible for now in most countries.

If you talk about governments all over the world, will accept crypto as legal payments for taxes and other issues related to government service to society, I think 'no' only a few countries that implement crypto payment systems, the reasons may be many, not all countries and governments think the same.

Talk too early. I think 'no' some people have talked about earlier here.

Topic: Bitcoin holders will have to pay their tax? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4517779.0)

Increase trust: yes it is clear that people are more trusting and easier to make payments with crypto for users in countries that do that, there is no bad reason if it is done, it is more positive.

Everything I wrote above is based on my point of view towards crypto.

governments are hot with crypto but they have gotten cold now if they announce that crypto can now be used for getting government papers and id's  . they can learn it because they are educated people and why did they became a government official if they didnt studied politics . politics isnt an easy course but it requires a good memory for memeorizing the codes of the law but id be more glad if they make most of their service online so that people dont need to go thru their office to inquire and process .

I guess it's too early, in order for that to happen, they have to ensure that crypto are fully regulated so it will not be used for money laundering, actually that's definitely the main concern of the government and they need to impose some procedures to ensure exchanges will cooperate and other financial institution.

I think fiat or digital currency is still easier to use, bitcoin or crypto will remain an option where few people will only use. 

There are country that already have that option you can pay using their local wallet exchange with the help of their partners  but only few list is available by now and birth certificate payment is not belong to that list.
but since it started, next time  it's already possible that you can also paid it online it will make the process  even faster if the government do it online instead of face to face transaction for paying government services.

I think it will be more of a function of a CDBC nd if my memory serves me right, Maduro's Petro evolved into this, as he allowed government services to be paid with government back up coins. However, I don't know if crypto, bitcoin in particular will be utilize by government. It will be too much of a hassle for them and they don't want them to be a crypto holder. Unless the country is really pro bitcoin, it will have a lot of disadvantage of them. So it's going to be CDBC and not our dear crypto.

Yes, slowly but surely we will get there, I have seen this positive trend where govts. are allowing and accepting official payments via cryptocurrencies and im sure in future this trend will grow and more countries will follow this trend.

In my opinion it's something that can happen but with a lot of restraint leaving aside the crypto's main idea of decentralization. With basic knowledge, we know that governments centralize power to have greater governance and management in a given country, state, province or city. Another aspect and concept that is getting stronger and stronger is the creation of its own currency for each country. Facebook's Libra had a similar concept and was blocked by governments.

I also agree that it's too early.

As far as i know, US citizens can't directly pay taxes with BTC. Source link would be better if you kindly provide in your topic. Popularity and acceptance of Bitcoin, Ethereum and few altcoins are increasing around the world. Recently a Visa Processing Agency declared their clients can pay fees with Bitcoin in the USA. More and more sectors are now adopting themselves with Bitcoin and blockchain technology. We won't be surprise if we see Garment sectors will come forward to adopt with crypto and give facilities to pay salary or pay payments for dress with crypto.

They have to at some point, the pressure on crypto and the government is increasing on a daily basis, we have new people coming into crypto, the space is expanding, more merchants are accepting crypto payment too, i think soon the government will not have a choice than to accept crypto payment for government services as well.

I'm not sure if they will accept direct payments with existing crypto, it's likely that they will use 3rd party services to convert it to fiat. Or else it can only be done with stable crypto.

I am not sure of that in my country except in some of the EU countries that are friendly to crypto. As soon as they start to accepting such services, It means crypto is a store of value for them and this same coin has been condemn by the central bank for being too risky and its high volatility. I would have love to see them using it in postal service order payment and other minor payment such as VAT but it might be too early. It seems many of them are just considering using the block chain technology for infrastructure development and upgrade without considering making token or implementation of the crypto payment system

It will increase our confidence towards the governments take about cryptocurrencies. They should be the one to be the most trusted entity where people will believe.
If a government accept and adopts it through means of payment with the said documents, doubters will start to believe on it.
But not all government will allow this to happen. Many of them are still not aware of it nor interested of adopting it.

Yes, obviously the governments will allow to pay for their services and taxes via crypto but first all the governments around the world need to come up with a clear and pro crypto policy that should encourage the use and payments via crypto to get rid of sluggish traditional systems.

The end point desired by the crypto community can indeed use crypto as payment in all countries, but the reality is very different from
what we want as a crypto community. Because there are still a few countries whose governments accept crypto as payment, so if it is
true that the US government allows its citizens to pay their taxes in crypto is one of the good things that is happening. Actually it is too
early to expect all governments around the world to allow citizens to pay for government services in crypto. At least we all have to educate
many people to accept blockchain technology as the core of cryptocurrency first.

If its already been done then why not? It would really be giving out some big convenience to those who held crypto and make use of their coins on the things that theyre needing the doubt part on here is that once you do deal with them through your coins is that they might tally those people who had
some crypto into their stashes which might be a problem later on when they do tend to make out some checkup or mandated on paying up tax
with your crypto holdings. lol
When it comes to confidence matter then any acceptance or adoption will really give out positive impact nor sentiment or impression towards bitcoin
or in the entire crypto market.

While cryptocurrency is still a phenomenon. People do not fully understand or do not want to understand the opportunities that the blockchain provides. But in the future, I think progressive States will grow up to transfer Central banks to the blockchain and issue national cryptocurrencies.

In my opinion, it is too early to have such opportunities for now. Many states and governments are determined not to recognize cryptocurrencies. I don't know what will happen in the following years, but it is very difficult in this process. Because crypto money also wants to keep money traffic under control. This is very difficult in these possibilities.

I believe that we are headed in that direction in which all the governments will accept crypto as the daily form of payment. It can be dependent on the person if they are going to use crypto, but the freedom and flexibility to use it should be enough to entice other people to use it or be made aware of it.  

I asked a couple of people if they have heard of what Bitcoin is, but they seem to have this notion that it's related to famous actors getting into it, but the reality is, it's just for that celebrity pockets. It may be important to educate people first before anything else on what Bitcoin really is. I think that's what matters the most.

Honestly simple parallel acceptance of crypto payment in the developed countries will skyrocket this market. Everyday more and more people are getting to know about cryptocurrency and one of the things that will make everyone always demand for it is to offer an immediate use in a daily life like the one of government bills payment, and others. .

Obviously, it is still very early to talk about the possibility of paying for public services with cryptocurrency on a global scale. But in some regions of the world, this is no longer something out of the ordinary. And in the near future, this will already be the norm, because governments are already beginning to show interest in cryptography.

The good news is that the people of the country will be happy to hear that cryptocurrencies are being converted to cryptocurrencies. Many hotels have been set up where transactions will be made through cryptocurrencies. I think if every country in the world agrees with this kind of purpose and why not accept it one day, then maybe its future will be much better. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

I would love to do that in my country but sadly it seems like the government and beaurocracy here does not care about it and that is why people here are suffering while other countries where they are encouraging the use of crypto are moving ahead and in coming years there will be clear difference among countries based on this parameter.

That's certainly true, mate. I think there's a long road ahead before crypto becomes fully adopted by mainstream governments. The crypto/Blockchain space is still not mature for the mainstream world. There are many issues including (but not limited to) lack of scalability, lack of regulation, and lack of price stability. If governments begin accepting crypto as payment method, they would immediately convert crypto to Fiat in order to prevent losses from wild fluctuations in price. But it's very unlikely they'll adopt crypto at its fullest, since most governments still consider it as a threat to the current monetary system. They wouldn't want people to abandon Fiat for crypto after all.

But who knows? Anything could happen in the future. The more crypto becomes popular, the higher the chances of governments adopting crypto as payment method will be. Everything will depend on how people use crypto in their everyday lives. Don't expect governments to adopt crypto if it's used heavily for illicit purposes, though. With or without adoption from the government, crypto will be here to stay. Just my thoughts ;D

Good point. It wouldn't make sense to adopt an alternative monetary system that's outside the control of governments and central banks alike. Adopting crypto for government services is like saying crypto is better than Fiat. Governments don't want this to happen, as they want to continue controlling our economy. It's this reason why adoption for crypto by the government has been very slow. To my knowledge, only a few states within the US are accepting crypto as payment method for paying taxes. The rest of the world is moving on with Fiat, as it's stable, and backed by mainstream governments.

At least, it's possible to pay with crypto for government services via the use of a crypto-backed credit/debit card. The conversion of crypto to Fiat occurs "on the fly", providing peace of mind for crypto "hodlers". While this method brings back the middleman, it's a workaround for those looking to use crypto everywhere Fiat is accepted worldwide. Expect to see further skepticism from mainstream governments, as crypto becomes more popular. We may reach a point where crypto will be deemed illegal in order to keep Fiat afloat. At least, crypto/Blockchain tech will carry on as usual due to its decentralized and open source nature. Just my opinion :)

governments have no need to adopt paying with crypto for its services because they have to promote their own fiat currency. so in many countries we won't see such possibilities in the near future.

no need for them also to promote fiat because all humans in the world already know what fiat is and it wasnt called promotion when they use fiat but it is a normal transactions as a part of humans daily life .

you like to see crypto adopted by governments or not ? but im sure you will , all of us that are involved on crypto wants that because that unlocks the true ability of crypto when governments are involved .

Ordinary debit card can be loaded with crypto with as little as 1 cent and used everywhere
https://www.relayx.com/card

How funny that the government once a hater of cryptocurrency and now they realized that it is something to be adopted. Also the centralized banks are not in favor of crypto but nowadays there are a lot of banks that wants to become related in crypto world.

That's certainly true, mate. Using crypto on top of Fiat, goes against what governments established in the first place. They wouldn't want to lose control over the mainstream economy, so it's unlikely governments will adopt crypto as payment method for their services. Your best bet would be to use a credit/debit card that's tied to your crypto balance. Many crypto companies already provide the ability to do this. You can pay your bills, and do everything you do with Fiat by using a crypto credit/debit card. While this brings back the middleman, it's the only way you'll be able to pay for government services.

Nonetheless, all that matters is that crypto remains decentralized and censorship-resistant to be able to stand the test of time. No matter if governments reject or approve crypto/Blockchain tech, the industry will carry on as usual. It shouldn't be long enough before governments and central banks consider crypto to be a threat to the existing monetary system. Just my opinion :)

I think no. Why would they? How will they tax this? In order to carry out such operations, it is necessary to create a separate legislative base, otherwise there will be problems with calculations.
It is a very difficult and long history to create a legal framework, especially if there are no precedents as an example.

It's is true crypto is growing every day so hope one day possible paying crypto for government services. I think my country not possible because here is our government can't trust crypto. Even not yet progress legally crypto in my country but my government try to consider support it from maintain rules.

In my country, I don't think the government will accept it right now. But it might be in the future one day. The biggest advantage now is that we can make online payment.

The situation will be said as mass adoption as we often to disscuss in this forum. I know it will take a long time for crypto, but who know as long as the crypto user growing time by time and it does not rule out the possibility that every government will re-regulate the use of crypto and they accept it well.

If that happen then there will be another consideration by crypto user, especially about fee per transaction. Last week I sent bitcoin to my exchange wallet and you have to know the fee transaction was really high to me. I have to spend $15 per one transaction although I sent arrounf $50 in bitcoin. This thing is a problem for crypto user, and seem like it will be an obstacle for every merchant or even the government to adopt crypto currency.

This regulations should be beneficial for all and not just for the benefit of the Government. Third-world countries cannot yet apply this application because most of this governments have not funded the research teams dedicated for this technology and even though a lot of users are already ready for this application, the government is not yet ready to accept the fact that there can be another currency used within their country.

For now it may not be "specifically" compatible enough for the government. if it's to pay employees like restaurants, or sports players, I guess that's fine. for now crypto still needs regulations that support and become the basis for making crypto a fairly complex government instrument

I think it's too early that crypto is used as a means of government payment service, which needs to be considered that the price of crypto is always dynamic, it can change at any time. it might be better to use digital money using blockchain technology. it's better than using crypto.

They did in some parts of USA.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2018/11/26/ohio-becomes-the-first-state-to-allow-taxpayers-to-pay-tax-bills-using-cryptocurrency/
There could be other states in the US that will adopt it soon.

I am not much at ease to pay government tax and bills via crypto because they can then even ask for crypto taxes which i will hate, they just want to take our money out of everything, being a new tech i think all the governements around the world should declare crypto a tax free asset for atleast 10 years.

This is a good new, Eventually, as you say, many other parts of the country will open their arms and starts to implement bitcoin in their taxi system. However, I will not pay government by my bitcoin because I'd rather save it for better future than spending my coins for this simple task.

I can see this happening, but it is just going to be an option, they won't substitute their national currencies for Crypto. I believe private businesses have a role to play here, when you go to places and you see can pay with Bitcoin, before you know it BTC is going to be like USD and other strong currencies that developing countries love to hold in their reserves and will start thinking how they can benefit from it

I say "too early" because payment with crypto is still risky, so for the government to accept payments with crypto it must be reviewed and must really pay attention to the concept so that there is no risk and loss from society or the government

I would be happy just to be able to pay my bills with crypto, that would be such a huge move. I think the payment of my water bill, electricity bill, gas bill, heating bill, phones and internet would be more than enough. If I could pay those in crypto that would allow me to have a bit of crypto aside to pay for those and I can turn into part-time crypto person.

Right now I either use fiat and have crypto savings, or I am full fiat, because I can't have crypto to spend, last time I truly spent crypto was going to a vacation in 2017 using my crypto and that's it, never spent anything on crypto after that (except my vps but that existed long time before that and keeps going and only 5 bucks a month). Having some of your payments in crypto would allow people to spend crypto and make crypto a bit more like currency and a bit less fully an investment.

I am sure in the near future this will be possible in many countries, but on condition that you reveal your identity, as well as reveal the origin of the funds. Otherwise, I don't see the slightest chance. Indeed, if you are a criminal and decide to launder money in this way, and all this will be revealed, there will be a big political scandal. It is much more profitable for the state to take a percentage of your income, even in cryptocurrency, but it must know where you got the money from in order to understand how much you can take from you in the future.

I am not sure that the government will give something like that, because in terms of responsibility, such as theft or other things, I don't think they can be held accountable for it, unless the crytpo they share is centralized coin. yeah, but if the development of cryptocurrency dominates, sooner or later, the government will definitely use payment methods via cryptocurrency, but I firmly believe that the token will become a centralized token.

I get your point, the government can freeze accounts once a fund is hacked because normally it will go through different banks and the AMLC will enter to investigate, while in crypto, it's not possible since transaction in crypto is irreversible and even if we have a lot of regulated exchanges but there are also a lot of OTC and even DEX, so it's not possible for the government to hold or even trace the funds.