Crypto Valley in full Swiss Alps
The city of Zug aims to become the center of a sort of Crypto Valley. As of July, its inhabitants will be able to pay municipal fees in bitcoins, a signal for all financial industries in the region.
The mayor Dolfi Müller is overcome by the great media coverage. They had been looking for new means for economic development in the town hall. "And in Zug they have set an example with bitcoin to get on the technology train of the future," he says. What they did not expect was that they were going to write history in the town.
Zug is the first municipality in the world to accept digital currency. The principles will be modest and the deposits are limited to 200 francs. The mayor wants to contain the risk in this first phase and there is still a lot of controversy surrounding the bitcoins and there are always attempts to swindle and swings in the price. Therefore, the incoming payments in bitcoins are immediately changed to Swiss francs. "For this there is a kind of exchange exchange", explains Dolfi Müller, "and thus we make sure that there are no losses in a matter of nanoseconds".
Castration of cats with bitcoin
With its lake and its alpine panorama, the Swiss village of Zug is a fairytale town. Taxes are low and rental prices are sky high. There is a quite international population. And maybe that's why walkers react positively to the offers of bitcoins. Few complain about the lack of transparency of this crypto-currency.
To many, the fact of making transactions without the intermediation of banks causes them even more pleasure than fear. For example, a woman trying to carry out a castration project of the stray cats in Santorini. It would be difficult to raise large amounts for it, he clarifies. Therefore, she is now interested in microfinance and bitcoins are ideal because they do not involve bank fees.
However, the use of bitcoins in practice is still scarce because they are not usually accepted in hotels or shops or restaurants. Only Dr. Abbas Hussain-Probst accepts the virtual currency when it comes to relieving the toothache of his patients. There is a lack of confidence in the digital currency, clarifies the dentist. Only some patients pay with bitcoins, and all come from the new technologies sector. Precisely, the clientele that wanted to get the drivers of the initiative of bitcoins.
From Crypto Valley to the global economy
Recently, around 20 Fintech industry companies (finance technology) have been established between Zug and neighboring Baar. One of them is Bitcoin Suisse. The company operates servers in the Swiss Alps that emit bitcoins through complex mathematical operations. And for the currency to become popular, companies also have ATMs. Like the Kafi Schoffel restaurant in Zurich, where you can exchange Swiss francs or euro bills for a strip of paper. When scanning the QR code printed with the mobile, the currency acquires its validity and customers can pay for their capuccino.
For the general director of Bitcoin Suisse, Niklas Nikolajsen, it will still be several years until digital currencies prevail on a large scale. He has no doubt that they will succeed. Also because digital currency will allow people to access the global economy that, otherwise, would not access. "A taxi driver in Nairobi can not work with credit cards for their high fees," Nikolajsen explains, "but you can buy a used smartphone for five dollars and accept payments in bitcoins."
