According to a government official, Bulgaria is looking into crypto payment options in the short to medium term.
Bulgaria to adopt crypto?
Bitcoin payments have been making headlines on more than just a couple of occasions. Recently, the Airbnb CEO uncovered in a Twitter survey that the company’s users were looking forward to crypto payment adoption. Other companies like AMC have wasted even less time and started accepting Dogecoin as a payment option. But in terms of nation-states, it’s been a case of “who wants to go next” after the unlikely adoption of Bitcoin by El Salvador.
Bulgaria may now be the unexpected hero that saves the day of Bitcoin bulls, as the country is reportedly exploring options for rolling out a crypto payment mechanism. Assen Vassilev, Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister for EU funds and Minister of Finance, said the government was in talks with the nation’s national bank and industry players to explore crypto payments. Interestingly, Vassilev did not specify whether that would refer to a CBDC or the adoption of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, Vassilev said that Bulgaria would probably not become a major hub for crypto miners. Speculation had arisen that the miner exodus from Kazakhstan could lead to an influx of miners into Bulgaria.
As only one of eight countries in the European Union that have not adopted the euro, Bulgaria would not stand to benefit from the rollout of a digital euro. However, the country is targeting euro adoption by 2024, and the digital euro is projected to be introduced no earlier than 2025.
Is Bulgaria sitting on a stash of Bitcoin?
However, cynics would say that Bulgaria’s sudden pro-crypto turn has a different and very mundane reason.
Reportedly, the Eastern European country may be the largest sovereign HODLer in the world after it seized over 213,000 BTC from an underground crime network before 2017. A cybercrime investigation called “Pratka/Virus” in 2017 led to authorities uncovering a tax evasion scheme that resulted in prosecutors seizing the unlawfully obtained Bitcoin. However, it is unclear where the confiscated crypto funds eventually ended up.
The Head of the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office, Ivan Gershev, refused to reveal the coins’ whereabouts. Gershev, who now serves as the country’s Prosecutor General, was asked for a statement by an investigative news outlet called Club Z, as was Finance Minister Vassilev. However, according to the last publicly confirmed information, officials denied possessing the said amount of cryptocurrency.
With the reportedly seized but missing crypto potentially in the hands of financial authorities and the government planning to enter the eurozone in a couple of years, Bulgaria should be on the radar of cryptocurrency investors. Although the country is on Europe’s periphery and rarely draws much attention to itself, it may become an interesting case study about potentially clashing interests by politicians. However, the truth about the missing Bitcoin also may never see the light of the day, with Bulgaria having a less than impressive record when it comes to political transparency.
Regardless of what happens next, Bulgaria is one to keep in mind if you’re holding Bitcoin.
