Christophe De Beukelaer, a member of the Belgian parliament, converted his salary to Bitcoin BTC $17,327 at the end of January 2022, making him the first politician in Europe to do so. Cointelegraph contacted a congressman to learn more about his experience as they commemorated the anniversary of this trial.
In order to support his choice, Beukelaer, who is a member of the Humanist Democratic Centre (CDH) party, referenced the case of New York City Mayor Eric Adams and how American politicians are attempting to turn their own states or cities into Bitcoin centres. Using the Bit4You cryptocurrency trading platform, the Brussels MP’s monthly salary of 5,500 euros ($6,140) would be converted to Bitcoin.
Beukelaer says, “I did this political act of paying in Bitcoin to defend political values,” naming four of them: fighting for financial illiteracy, promoting economic opportunity, and defending financial freedom. The last one is probably the most intriguing because the legislator, who describes himself as a “pragmatic environmentalist,” believes there is a direct connection between Bitcoin and the environmental clause:
“What happens when the central bank prints money, as it has done recently? It creates the appearance of limitless resources, which motivates all participants in the economy to produce and consume more and more.
“What happens when the central bank prints money, as it has done recently? It creates the appearance of limitless resources, which motivates all participants in the economy to produce and consume more and more.
“What happens when the central bank prints money, as it has done recently? It creates the appearance of limitless resources, which motivates all participants in the economy to produce and consume more and more.
Beukelaer views his experiment as a success because it helped put Belgium on the map of the cryptocurrency world and inspired local officials to become knowledgeable about digital assets:
Many elected officials believed De Beukelaer was not an anarchist. He must find something intriguing about Bitcoin if he is interested in it.
Many elected officials believed De Beukelaer was not an anarchist. He must find something intriguing about Bitcoin if he is interested in it.
Was it practically comfortable? Given the BTC’s decrease from approximately $38,000 in January 2022 to $17,246 at the time of publication in January 2023, the affirmative response appears improbable, but the MP didn’t view his experiment as an economic strategy from the beginning:
It wasn’t a financial gesture; it was a political one. similar to those who sport moustaches in November to raise awareness of prostate cancer. Every month, I deposit this pay in bitcoin into a cold wallet; I haven’t touched it since. I did not intend to live in cryptocurrency.
Beukelaer points out the concerns with the Markets in Crypto-assets law (MiCA), even though it is the first significant step toward pan-European regulation: the severe restrictions placed on the personal possession of cryptocurrency or the way stablecoins are seen.
According to a politician, Europe is in for tough times due to the energy and climate crises, the emergence of authoritarian governments, and other factors. In that sense, Western nations will gradually come to understand the value of crypto.