Despite the fact that skeptics and experts point to volatility as a major worry, Australian Mayor Tom Tate announced that city citizens may be able to pay taxes and rates using cryptocurrency in the next months or years.
In terms of cryptocurrency acceptability, the Gold Coast is one of Australia’s top cities. According to Statista, the Gold Coast, with a population of 721,687, is the tenth biggest city in Australia to have a bitcoin ATM that takes cryptocurrencies in-store.
“If the danger is low, why can’t we pay interest rates in cryptocurrency?” “It’s not that horrible,” Tate said, implying that volatility isn’t as severe as it appears.
According to the mayor, allowing bitcoin payments sends a message that “we are inventive and attract the younger generation.” The mayor went on to say that they are constantly looking ahead.
Bitcoin has dropped more than 56% since reaching an all-time high in November,, and is currently trading at US$29,951 as of press time. While the plan has the support of a national blockchain business group, several bitcoin specialists have advised caution. Despite the market losing $2 trillion, or more than half of its value, in the last six months, Tate is optimistic about Bitcoin’s future as a payment mechanism.
Tate was first elected mayor of Australia’s sixth-largest city in 2012 and has since been re-elected in 2016 and 2020. He stated that crypto acceptance has not yet been verified, but that they are only considering the next step.
According to a poll conducted by comparison website Finder in October of last year, Australia is more positive about bitcoin than the majority of other countries.
The analysis, which is based on the site’s Cryptocurrency Adoption Index (CAI), assesses the global growth of bitcoin and other crypto-assets by polling over 41,600 people in 22 countries.
This year, rates in the Gold Coast region increased by 4%, the highest increase in a decade. Tate is interested in recruiting a younger audience and feels that bitcoin will send a message to this demographic.
Despite the fact that many people find bitcoin unintelligible, Adam Poulton, chair of the industry committee Blockchain Australia, declared that bitcoin was “just another sort of money” with an exchange rate related to the Australian dollar.
Residents of El Salvador and the Central African Republic, where Bitcoin is legal cash, can pay their taxes in Bitcoin.
Also Read: The Australian Taxation Office will Pay Special Attention to Returns from Cryptocurrencies
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