In April 2017, Japan officially recognised bitcoin as a legal means of payment for goods and services. In Germany, sellers already accept bitcoin as payment. I consider the adoption of bitcoin as a legal means of payment in Luxembourg to be a tremendous opportunity for our country, our economy and our citizens.

Firstly, it would be a wonderful advertisement for the country, showing the rest of the world our willingness to be on the leading edge and embrace change. Next, Luxembourg would be perceived as a modern state that refuses to close itself off to the phenomenon of bitcoin and is open to fintech. Startups could develop innovative payment solutions and control devices for cash registers, not to mention new solutions that could be developed for e-commerce.

Additionally, the grand duchy could attract bitcoin exchange platforms, which would be excellent for our economy. Ignoring such exchange platforms in Luxembourg would deprive ourselves of an emerging piece of the economic pie. Imagine the tax revenues and investments that an attractive legal and tax environment could generate.

Today, cryptomonies have a capitalisation of over $100bn. Bitcoin comprises about 40% of that number, outpacing the other virtual currencies: Ethereum, Ripple and LiteCoin.

I consider the legalisation of the bitcoin as an opportunity for the grand duchy, although a great deal of information is still required before moving forward. There are dangers to the custody of bitcoin and the fluctuation in the market. Technical questions also arise: would bitcoin be considered as a currency or an asset, such as gold?

In spite of these questions and concerns, I see adopting bitcoin as legal tender in Luxembourg to be inevitable, and I believe aligning with this virtual currency is a logical step forward for our great nation.

Robert Bigdowski is a civil servant who lives in Beaufort. He is the author of a public petition to parliament that calls for legislation that would officially allow bitcoin to be used as legal tender in Luxembourg. On the date of publication, a parliamentary committee was still reviewing Bigdowski’s draft of public petition 829. The petition has not yet been approved and so it has not yet opened for signatures.