Liechtenstein is very progressive when it comes down to crypto. The small country was very early to introduce regulations for crypto a few years ago. Because of this crypto-friendly approach, many businesses settled in Vaduz and operate from the country’s capital. But the story of Liechtenstein and crypto doesn’t stop there. Recently, the Prime Minister revealed in an interview that his country has plans to adopt Bitcoin for payments.

Will Liechtenstein follow the path of El Salvador and how will Bitcoin be adopted?

Paying government services with BTC

In an interview with the German newspaper Handelblatt, Prime Minister Daniel Risch revealed that Liechtenstein has plans to accept Bitcoin payments. Specifically, to pay for government services which makes Bitcoin more useful to citizens since conversion to fiat is unnecessary.

This comes as a surprise and while Risch teased the adoption of Bitcoin payments in the public sector he wasn’t revealing any details about these plans. The country isn’t following the example of El Salvador and is not adopting Bitcoin as a national currency. El Salvador's decision was driven by the fact that the country hasn’t a national currency other than the US Dollar. 

Liechtenstein is in a similar situation and the official currency is the Swiss franc but Euro is also widely accepted. But the country’s economy isn’t negatively impacted as much as El Salvador’s by the fact that it hasn’t its currency.

Who else is accepting Bitcoin?

It appears that several places accept Bitcoin for paying public services in the same region. Lugano became a hub more recently and Zermatt advanced already in 2020. The village even accepts Bitcoin for paying taxes and fees.

Given the size of Liechtenstein and the fact that it is the sixth smallest country in the world, the decision has only a small impact that is comparable to the Bitcoin adoption of Zermatt and Lugano. Even though it probably won’t move the market, it sets an important example. Governments and public services can open up to Bitcoin and accept it without needing to revoke any other payment options or currencies.

This makes it easier and faster for citizens and tourists to pay for services or taxes. It remains to be seen if other countries are going to follow the example. Bhutan might be a candidate since the country has been secretly running mining operations for several years. Now that these activities aren’t a secret any longer Bhutan could potentially extend its involvement into Bitcoin.