Critics have suggested that the price volatility of cryptocurrencies after a market meltdown might decrease excitement for accepting cryptocurrencies as payment.
Tom Tate, the mayor of the Gold Coast in Australia, has proposed that bitcoin may be used by locals to pay local taxes in the future, despite the current market drop and instability.
Why can't we pay interest on cryptocurrencies if the risk is not high?
Tate questioned local media source ABC News on June 5, a week before to the council's annual budget presentation.
The volatility is not that bad.
Tate was elected mayor of Australia's sixth-largest city, the Gold Coast, in 2012, and has since been re-elected for a second term in 2016 and a third in 2020. The transfer has not yet been finalised, he noted, but they are planning ahead.
It sends a signal that we're innovative and bring in the younger generation ... [but] I'm not saying we're doing it, I'm just saying we're always looking at the next level.
The mayor's remarks come at a time when a growing number of towns and nations across the globe are considering enabling crypto and central bank digital currencies to be used to pay local taxes and rates. Australian banks ANZ and NAB would not 'endorse' retail cryptocurrency speculation.
Adam Poulton of Blockchain Australia told ABC News that the council would need to evaluate its risk tolerance before agreeing to accept cryptocurrencies as payment.
The last thing they'd want to do is accept $2,000 worth of rates, hold it in Bitcoin and for the Bitcoin price to halve,
In April, Prime Minister Philip Davis of the Bahamas announced intentions to enable people to pay taxes using the Sand Dollar, the country's central bank digital currency (CBDC).Residents of three major Chinese cities started paying taxes, stamp charges, and social security contributions using the country's CBDC, the digital yuan, in the same month.
The Swiss city of Lugano, Buenos Aires, Colorado, Rio de Janeiro, and The Central African Republic are among the several locations that have indicated they are evaluating or adopting cryptocurrency for tax payments.