Bitcoin Forum

The bitcoin community in Europe is awed to hear the intention of the Liechtenstein local lawmakers about the integration of bitcoin for government payments. They intend to swap the bitcoin into Swiss franc immediately after it arrives in their wallet. According to Daniel Risch, the PM, and Finance Minister, he stated that the ruling body could allow its citizen to utilize bitcoin for government payments, but it's not sure if they'll take in bitcoin as legal tender, he didn't mention it.

Hence, regarding the network congestion happening recently, bitcoin communities lament that the Liechtenstein government has not experience network congestion, before the bitcoin gets converted into Swiss Franc it'll take time and they'll pay higher fees too. Hopefully, the whole dust transaction gets decongested before Switzerland concludes its decision of integrating bitcoin as a means of paying government fees. If these countries, adopt bitcoin payment it'll boost bitcoin, but if the mempool busy traffic continues it can demoralize them from taking this step. 

https://cryptopotato.com/liechtenstein-could-embrace-bitcoin-as-a-payment-method-for-gvmt-services-says-pm/

Nice to see if this proposal will come true, although this mean the Liechtenstein's citizens can pay directly the government service with Bitcoin, but it don't need to make Bitcoin to become a legal tender because there's will be a strict regulation they need to follow. Just don't ban Bitcoin and let the citizens know if they're not against of Bitcoin usage, it's enough,

This is really nice coming from the Liechtenstein’s government. They must have seen what is going on in El Salvador, and also their neighbouring country Switzerland. How the local town Lugano had adopted their own token LVGA as a legal tender in March 2022 and also the acceptance of Bitcoin and USDT as means of payment and so far the results have been encouraging. Even if the government do not get to make Bitcoin a legal tender but accepting bitcoin as a mean of payment would help businesses to thrive and create a lot of opportunities for the country.

Yeah, no big difference if they consider bitcoin as a legal tender rather than just make it as a means of payment. Making bitcoin a legal tender only confirms it's legitimacy so definitely a no big deal. Another win for crypto and this one is much more better since the government isn't losing anything here since they're going to quickly convert it to hard currency.

It's nice that Bitcoin is going through these phases. I don't know where this topic will lead in Liechtenstein, but it's good news that it's even discussed. It is too early for it to become a legal payment instrument. Of course, some states or institutions will switch to this payment method over time. What needs to be done now is to remove the obstacles in front of it. Everyone should be able to do whatever they want with bitcoin without encountering any obstacles. When this happens, the other things we've already talked about will gradually come true.

It is always great news when bitcoin becomes the currency that governments from one country to another will adopt. It's clear to me that this will drive more power for a better future for bitcoin as an alternative currency should fiat stop helping society so much because of its banks and centralized systems. Bitcoin is worth considering, but really my concern may have been raised and might say tough if the dust attack continues to fill the mempool.

Do any of you think that dust attacks/ ordinals attack are a threat to slow bitcoin adoption growth?

This is good news from Lichtenstein government to encourage the adoption of bitcoin. It is a big win for the bitcoin community as this will increase the rate of adoption of bitcoin and citizens will enjoy financial freedom and other attached benefits to using bitcoin.

It doesn't mean that bitcoin must be adopted as a legal tender before it can be used freely for payment by its users. As long as the government has accepted the adoption to use it as an alternative payment method,it is fine because there will be no restrictions on bitcoin. The government of Lichtenstein has seen that bitcoin is a store of value and can resist inflation and they know how bitcoin will help its citizens.

Many governments don't say this publicly but I'm pretty sure they're hoarding bitcoin so they don't put themselves at a disadvantage to others, and Liechtenstein's stating this could drive others out, high FEE won't stop anything especially when movements million.

This is interesting, Liechtenstein has been Bitcoin friendly for a while now and this move
is just another step possibly to accepting Bitcoin as legal tender, who knows...

Its a very small country but they are very welcoming to Bitcoin.

Binance and Kraken exchanges are based there and some banks in Liechtenstein have
been offering crypto services for a few years and now the government are taking a
positive and direct approach.

That's what others should be considering if it's about accepting Bitcoin as payments for their government payments and obligations.

They don't have to hold it and be wary about its volatility but they can convert that quickly by using such third party service that they are aware of.

It's just a matter of choice for them on which service they're going to use for them to have this adopted by most of their citizens. This acceptance is about maximizing most of the payment systems and methods that their citizens might know.

It's great to see Liechtenstein considering integrating Bitcoin for government payments! But, it looks like they'll be converting it into Swiss Franc right after they receive it. Some folks are worried about the recent network congestion issue, and how it might affect the transaction time and fees. Hopefully, the congestion issue gets resolved before Switzerland decides to follow suit. It would be a real boost for Bitcoin if more countries start adopting it, but if the traffic remains congested, it might discourage them. Fingers crossed for a smooth transition!
And I would like to see integrations of Bitcoin without the conversion in any fiat currency, just Bitcoin!

I'm happy that there is a bit more attention in Europe to Bitcoin. Small countries are more like to take these small actions that most of bigger countries as they are more dependant of capitalism and socialism and also on other countries from EU.

They won't pass that bill easily and might not do that in future.

If there is anything they are ready to approve as a mean for government payments, they will do it with their CBDCs first.

Bitcoin is a threat for their fiat currencies, CBDCs and governments won't initiate something that will make future of their CBDCs looks worse. At least with governments, they don't consider Bitcoin as something neutral and harmless for their fiats and CBDCs.

just like how "mainstreaming" hyped up turning bitcoin from a private property  into a currency resulted in regulators being able to control aspects of crypto

this topics conversation is trying to hype up how a EU country is implementing something .. which end result would be to make crypto taxable..

too many people pump the hype but never understand the consequences.

understand what they mean by paying for government services(tax)

imagine it this way do you really want to have to create transactions where part of the destination addresses is a tax office address. where you have to pay sales tax or cap gains tax on transactions

EG
have 1btc you bought at $6 in 2012 . but because you never used it its still sat as a utxo realised value of $6 but then you move it 11 years later at $29k knowing you have to pay 30% of it to a tax office just for moving it becasue you have realised 28,994 of value increase so have to send them 0.3btc just to move your coin

yep once they are apply tax acceptance law to crypto they will soon after, be wanting to grab tax revenue from it

I might not know the real consequences of this policy by the government of Liechtenstein but it is good for bitcoin publicity and awareness. They might have some negative intentions but those restrictions can be surmounted. It will only take time for bitcoiners to devise a way to invade such privacy or centralization issues.

We all hope that this traffic issues is settled because it could actually serve as a discouragement. But the government of Liechtenstein should understand that the Bitcoin space has its challenges so if they want to adopt Bitcoin for payments, they should also be willing to be part of the solution to the problem. This issue will not last for a long time, I guess.

I don't see bitcoin as a threat to fiat currency, this new adjustment in Liechtenstein's local law doesn't change much to an extent of being a treat to their fiat currency. It's just an additional payment method and a way to accept citizens who own bitcoin to pay their dues using that medium. The Government may implement a fee for themselves too aside the one meant for bitcoin miners. For instance a fee of 20$ can be $25 for bitcoin payers. And they'll quickly change that to fiat currency helping the network in a way and at same time helping the growth of local peer2peer traders who change bitcoin to fiat. One good news about it is that it'll disseminate bitcoin to a wider public of citizens in that country.

Liechtenstein is even defined as a microstate (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liechtenstein) considering its area and population, and is not part of the European Union or the Eurozone. Even if they accepted Bitcoin in any form, it would not have any significant effects, because in some parts of Switzerland and some other EU countries you can pay bills, taxes and buy almost anything you can imagine with Bitcoin - and you don't even need to pay tax on profit if you keep BTC for more than 1 or 2 years.

These were the people who would go against credit card payments or bank wire transfers as well I suppose. It's just a method of payment and that's it, doesn't mean anything has to change, it may or it may not change but that's not the point and we are going to end up with near similar results without a doubt. I believe that we are going to end up with something much better overtime and we just need to end up with these type of nations and governments that support it. This idea alone is a proof that they are pro-crypto.

It hasn't happened yet obviously, they are just considering it and they may end up deciding they won't do it as well, but even the idea of it and being considered is enough to actually make it work. It would be better if they start doing it, but even the idea is enough.

Well, ive always been of the opinion that the best is yet to come for bitcoin, even if this doesn't end up working out, I still have full trust that bitcoin would one day become a major currency globally..

And yes, the network congestion which has resulted to a high transaction cost is indeed a hindrance and could cause bitcoin to loose opportunities of adoption as this one, but then, let's just hope (like the op said) that the network get decongested before the government makes its final decision.

You're right in your opinion as Liechtenstein Prime Minister has developed interest on bitcoin investment through the State reserved assets, bitcoin is not what we deny of anymore because it is legally acceptable as a means of payment in any part of the world, being a decentralized digital currency makes it more outstanding and more applicable in various economic aspects of life, the current high transaction fee is never a distraction to wether to give interest in bitcoin adoption or not, everything works base on the understanding of what bitcoin is and how it has come to be a game changer of the financial economy, we look forward for more countries adoption this year as a legal tender.

" It is worth mentioning that the politician failed to provide details on whether Liechtenstein intends to embrace BTC as a legal tender, similar to what El Salvador and the Central African Republic did in 2021 and 2022, respectively."

That is one paragraph that has been submitted on the link that you have provided. And I think that's an important point here. It was stated that it was a discourse from a politician and whether it would actually be implemented we would not yet know.

He gave the example of 2 countries that have actually legalized BTC such as El Salvador and the Central African Republic and did not mention that Liechtenstein would be like that too.

It's important to read what the OP has linked to us.

Problem is news is using "legal tender" quite interchangeably and kind of missing the point on what legal tender actually means.

See even making it law doesn't mean much if the underlying tech doesn't allow it for normal people, it can even backfire, like in El Salvador and CAR.

I remember everyone saying in Japan it was legal tender years ago but it actually isn't. Legal tender means it is issued or regulated by central bank, in all my understanding.

The adoption of Bitcoin in Liechtenstein is a positive move that could potentially impact Bitcoin's price positively. It's encouraging to hear news of small countries in the EU taking the initiative to adopt Bitcoin as a local currency. However, I think a potential issue is that the Bitcoin may be converted to Swiss francs after the transaction is made, since most of Bitcoiners would like if it stays as bitcoin without this conversion, this will raise questions about taxes and the speed of the operation. It's worth considering any tax implications and the speed at which the conversion would occur before fully implementing it.

Whether if that would work or nope, this is still a great initiative and a positive step for the Bitcoin community. I believe that even if the adoption in Liechtenstein doesn't go as planned, it's still a win for Bitcoin overall. I'm confident that sooner or later Bitcoin will become a major global currency.

Well, a lot of governments have planned to adopt bitcoin is some form or shape earlier as well. But not many of them have gone ahead and materialize the plan. So even if it's a good news that Liechtenstein lawmakers are planning for such things, it's of no use unless it's actually materializes.

Also amidst the current BRC-20 madness, Bitcoin users have stopped transactions. Not sure if it's a great time to start thinking of these lines. If it happens, it's good!

It should only be noted that Bitcoin is no longer legal tender in the CAR (https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/why-bitcoin-failed-in-car), so that experiment did not end well in one of the poorest countries in the world, where only about 10% of the population has access to the internet.

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I already wrote that this micro-state is not part of the European Union (EU) and I don't know if it's a misconception or if that abbreviation is used incorrectly when someone thinks of Europe. However, it should be emphasized that Liechtenstein is part of the EEA (European Economic Area), which means that they are part of the EU market.



Do you think that the world powers will just allow this and endanger their national currencies? Bitcoin is already a global currency and it is not at all necessary for any country to declare it as legal tender in order for it to be successful. You only have to look at the examples of countries like Switzerland, the Netherlands, or perhaps the island of Boracay in the Philippines, but also at many other examples where people use Bitcoin without the government of those countries having a positive opinion about it - it is a means of payment, and when people pay for services and products, the state collects taxes, which is a win-win situation.

I enjoyed this information and the fact that the Finance Minister is a digitally inclined person. This will make Bitcoin stronger outside the world and give more countries the confidence to be part of this historic advancement.

I also enjoyed to see the Liechtenstein minister‘s wish on moving the country's multi-billion dollars treasury to Bitcoin although he complained about risks which is the uncertainty in the Blockchain technology. But still wishes to take that move in the future.

I am proud to also find the trend of other smaller nations working towards adopting the Bitcoin technology.

One thing could be my fear and it is not for such governments and more to plan a coup over the Bitcoin technology by pushing towards controlling the market in a way to maneuver the currently decentralization of Bitcoin, which makes it unique.

Wow, that is a Good News to hear about Bitcoin adoption as a means of payment by government approved, which I strong believe that, one day a country we approve Bitcoin as a means payment, which nation will be accept bitcoin payment's transaction in time coming, which the sweetest part of Bitcoin price goes with USD, has no barrier of any country currency, but rather added advantage as a digital assets.

There are many rumors of countries and territories allegedly legalizing Bitcoin that is good to hear a government actually integrating it for the use of their population. Of course, there are still concerns about the high fees and congestion but the bigger news that will impact people is that the government and its officials are accepting cryptocurrency, practically legalizing its usage. This has the possibility of creating a rippling effect of other governments doing the same if they see that it has no negative outcomes for Liechtenstein.

Indeed, the integration of bitcoin into government payments in Liechtenstein could be a significant step in the spread of cryptocurrencies in the world. However, as you rightly pointed out, network congestion issues can affect this process, especially if the fees are high. In any case, this is an interesting experiment that could have an impact on other countries and even other governments. We will follow the development of this situation.