A Brussels member of Parliament wants to take a page out of the playbook of US politicians and receive his salary in Bitcoin.
Belgian MP to become a trailblazer?
An unexpected addition to the list of politicians taking their salary in Bitcoin seems to be on the cards.
Christophe De Beukelaer, a Brussels Member of Parliament, plans to follow in the footsteps of two US mayors who have pledged to receive their next salary in Bitcoin. De Beukelaer, though, is upping the ante. He wants to receive not only a single month’s salary in the popular cryptocurrency but plans to receive his entire yearly income for 2022 in Bitcoin.
De Beukelaer, a member of the conservative CDH party, plans to convert his salary into Bitcoin at the end of each month using the Belgian crypto platform Bit4You. In his announcement in L’Echo, a Belgian daily, he had the following to say:
“Through this action, I want to demonstrate my confidence in a financial world in the making, a more transparent financial world, more accessible in the sense that it is decentralized”, he explains. It is not run by a few people who decide to print more or less banknotes without any parliamentary control or debate. Today, central banks print banknotes without anyone talking about it. Yet inflation has a major effect on people’s well-being. Are cryptocurrencies a second financial world, organized differently, decentralized, in the hands of citizens? It is a form of monetary counter-power without an intermediary.”
De Beukelaer stressed that his plan was not driven by speculation. Instead, he wants the Belgian political world to move and legislate to facilitate the development of blockchains. De Beukelaer added:
“We already have very dynamic companies specializing in this field. Many countries are investing in blockchains, I do not want Belgium misses the train.The blockchain, this is the world of tomorrow.”
De Beukelaer also said he was aware of the risk he was taking but stressed that he had long-term confidence in Bitcoin, which he sees as “digital gold.” He also reiterated an argument often made by Bitcoin advocates: Bitcoin had almost no fees and that even investing small amounts was a good way to enter the world of cryptocurrencies.
Politicians taking Bitcoin: fad or not?
De Beukelaer is the first European politician who pledges to follow Eric Adams’s example, Democratic mayor of New York, and Francis Suarez, Republican mayor of Miami. Both politicians vowed to be the first to take a salary in Bitcoin, although the winner of this unofficial race has not been declared yet.
With Bitcoin becoming more popular as salary in the sports world as well – an Australian baseball club is set to pay its players and staff in Bitcoin – this probably is not the last instance of a politician taking a Bitcoin salary. As the cryptocurrency becomes more politicised, elected officials will be more motivated to use it for political gains – like winning appeal with crypto-enthusiastic voters by signalling their belief in Bitcoin.
