Belgian MP Christophe De Beukelaer said that he will be accepting his salary in Bitcoin throughout 2022.
We have been often hearing that the Bitcoin bug has caught up hard with politicians recently. A number of US politicians have recently announced accepting their salaries in Bitcoin. However, as the first politician in Europe, Christophe De Beukelaer, a Belgian MP from Brussels has announced his decision to accept his salary in Bitcoin.
The Brussels MP currently draws a monthly salary of 5,500 EUR. As per the local publication Bruzz, the MP shall be converting his salary to Bitcoin via the Bit4You crypto trading platform. Beukelaer, from Belgium’s Humanist Democratic Centre (CDH) party, also hopes his move would inspire fellow politicians.
Interestingly, the MP is not just accepting one salary, but rather all salaries throughout 2022. Explaining his decision, De Beukelaer states:
“I am the first in Europe, but not in the world, to want to shine a spotlight on cryptocurrencies with such a move. New York City’s new mayor, Eric Adams, will collect his salary for 3 months in Bitcoin in order to make New York the Bitcoin Center. I think it’s not too late for Brussels and Belgium to be at the forefront of the crypto-currency industry. We already have some great companies in the field (KeyRock, Venly, Settlemint, Logion, NGrave, Argent…) but it’s time to position ourselves clearly and create a real ecosystem”.
The Political Love for Bitcoin
To sway young voters to them, new-age politicians have been relying on Bitcoin and crypto. The trend is more frequent over the last year owing to the strong market rally. De Beukelaer’s latest decision to accept salary in Bitcoin comes as he has proposing that Brussels becomes a crypto-friendly hub.
However, De Beukelaer’s belongs to the opposition party which has a seat share of only 7.5% in the Brussels-Capital Region Parliament. Besdies the Belgiam MP has also collaborated with blockchain entrepreneur Raoul Ullens to create an association dubbed the “Brussels Blockchain Conference”.
The association seeks to bridge the gap between political and economic decision-makers thereby providing a boost to Belgium’s crypto ecosystem. Putting up further confidence in the blockchain and the crypto ecosystem, MP De Beukelaer wrote:
“I want to show that it is already possible now to live solely on blockchain, with a return on savings and paying bills”.
The MP further adds that while the US is making giant strides in this area, Europe shall not be left behind.
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