Switzerland leads a practical new trend in the cryptocurrency market

January 11, 2018

The cryptocurrency market has grown so large and is becoming accepted by so many that entire towns in some of the world’s most developed nations are accepting digital currencies as payment for traditional goods and services.

Take Switzerland, for example. The European power’s town of Zug is home to approximately 30,000 residents, and now the entire town is able to spend up to 200 Swiss Francs in Bitcoin on municipal service payments such as public utilities and much more besides. Though beginning as a pilot scheme in 2016, the town decided to continue with it at the end of the trial according to reports.

They took that decision thanks to the fast-paced growth of cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, with the city council delighted by the positive press they received during the initial announcement of their plans. Mayor Dolfi Müller also said at the time that he wanted Zug to “get out in front of future technologies.”

More cities and towns are tuning into the cryptocurrency market

Switzerland isn’t the only nation that has been enamoured by the potential that cryptocurrency can provide to its residents. Japan has gone as far as making Bitcoin a legal currency, a move which has helped the country account for approximately half of the global trade volume of Bitcoin.

At the same time, Australia is thinking of creating its own cryptocurrency, with the head of Australia’s Reserve Bank suggesting at the end of 2017 that they have been studying what it would mean to create a digital currency version of the Australian dollar.

There were similar rumblings in Canada toward the end of 2017 with the Central Bank of Canada publishing a white paper discussing the pros and cons for central banks issuing cryptocurrencies. It’s certainly something that’s on their minds; around the same time, Canadian financial regulators approved the public sales of cryptocurrency for the first time.

The times are indeed changing with these just a few examples of how the world is embracing the rise of the digital currency market and the incredible benefits it could provide their residents and markets in the long-term.

Is your business following those trends, too?

Perhaps most telling of how the trend is being adopted comes from a prediction from Eugene Etsebeth, a former central banker with the South African Reserve Bank. Writing for Coindesk at the end of 2017, Eugene comments ‘In 2018, things will be different. G7 central banks will start buying cryptocurrencies to bolster their foreign reserves’.

2017 was the year when cryptocurrency, headed by the explosion in value of Bitcoin, firmly took centre stage in the global consciousness. If Eugene is right, then the trend could evolve even further this year, with digital currencies firmly being adopted by global nations and becoming more mainstream than they’ve been before.

It’s a key indicator to brands and businesses of all shapes and sizes that the sooner they futureproof their business and accept digital currency trends, the better. Having payment systems and more that accept digital currencies and providing solutions that benefit customers that are attuned the digital currency movement can not only benefit your business in the long-term, but also right here and now.

If you’d like to know more about digital currencies and the potential benefits of aligning them to your business movements, speak to a Fibonatix specialist today to find out more.