Crypto is slowly making its way towards wider adoption. We are not talking about new partnerships here but about the option to pay your taxes in digital assets. One small town in Canada (just north of Toronto) has decided to follow the footsteps of Ohio and allow its resident to pay their taxes in crypto. To be more precise, we are talking Bitcoin here.
The name of the town is Innisfil is already accepting Bitcoin as an official payment method since April 1. Local news outlet Simcoe reports that Innisfil is the first town in Canada to launch this service.
The Mayor of Innisfil Lynn Dollin said in a statement:
“Once again, we are proud to be first in taking this bold step by offering this new, exciting payment option to our residents. By getting into this now, we are making sure our municipality is ahead of the game, and signalling to the world that we truly are a future-ready and innovative community.”
Now before you all crypto geeks start shouting “Crypto is here to stay”, we have to note you that this isn’t exactly a long-term initiative but more of a one-year trial. Yeah, the authorities are more into exploring things before putting their bets on them. It is fair to say that while the initiative is OK in terms of crypto adoption it doesn’t necessarily mean it will have a big impact on the sector because this depends on the number of residents willing to utilize digital assets.
Last week Twitch discontinued its crypto payment options due to lack of interest from its userbase.
Anyway, Innisfil residents can pay their taxes with BTC on the Innisfil website. In the near future, more assets such as Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, and Bitcoin Cash could be added. However, this largely depends on the usage and feedback from citizens.
Unsurprisingly, the municipality is not going to deal with crypto at all. Instead, it has partnered with a third party payment provider to convert all crypto payments to fiat. That being said, we are far away from the day when crypto will dominate the payment sector. And while such initiatives are good they have little to none impact on the market.
