Liechtenstein Prime Minister Says Government to Accept Bitcoin Payments, Open to Investing Reserves in BTC

Liechtenstein’s prime minister has reportedly revealed that bitcoin payments will be accepted for some government services. “A payment option with bitcoin is coming,” he said, adding that he is open to investing state reserves in the cryptocurrency.

Daniel Risch, Liechtenstein’s prime minister who also serves as the country’s finance minister, has reportedly revealed that Liechtenstein plans to accept bitcoin payments for certain government services. He said in an interview with German business daily Handelsblatt Sunday without giving a specific timeframe:

A payment option with bitcoin is coming.

Risch explained that Liechtenstein plans to accept bitcoin and immediately exchange BTC for Swiss francs, the national currency, in order to avoid exchange-rate risks. He also clarified that the cryptocurrency would not be granted equal status as the Swiss franc.

The prime minister additionally told the news outlet that he was open to investing state reserves in bitcoin in the future.

Liechtenstein’s reserves, currently amounting to approximately 2.23 billion Swiss francs ($2.51 billion), are invested mostly in securities, Handelsblatt reported, citing the finance ministry.

Risch was further quoted by Reuters as saying:

Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are still too risky. But this assessment can of course change.

In October 2019, Liechtenstein’s legislature approved the “Token and Trustworthy Technology Service Providers Act” (abbreviated TVTG in German). The government noted in its announcement at the time that with the new law, Liechtenstein becomes the first country to comprehensively regulate the token economy.

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