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(Kitco News) – The push to make Bitcoin (BTC) legal tender continues to gain traction in some regions as Joana Cotar, a member of the German Bundestag (federal parliament), recently expressed her support for making the top cryptocurrency legal tender in Germany.
Cotar made the comments while speaking with Cointelegraph, saying that she wants to initiate a “preliminary examination” to create a legal framework that officially recognizes BTC as legal tender in the country.
“This includes ensuring the legal security for companies and citizens,” she said. “We need to combat potential risks such as money laundering, tax evasion, and other illegal activities associated with Bitcoin, but without stifling innovation and the freedom aspects of Bitcoin.”
At the same time, Cotar pushed back against the creation of a digital euro, saying the implementation of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) for the EU would allow central banks to set an “upper limit” for payments and ownership, putting citizens “helplessly at [their] mercy.”
“The digital euro would also mean that each and every one of us could be totally monitored,” she said. “As a convinced libertarian, I emphatically reject this. Anyone who is against surveillance and for freedom does not need a digital euro!”
Cotar pointed to China’s social credit system as a cautionary example of what a cashless and state-controlled payment system would mean for EU citizens. “I don’t want the authorities to be able to spy on our private life and misuse this data,” she said.
During a speech last week before the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, Cotar advocated for Bitcoin by wearing a shirt with the BTC logo on it while also speaking out against the Digital euro. “Whoever is tired of fiat money and is interested in sound money has Bitcoins in his wallet. No one needs the digital euro, except for the ECB and politicians with a different agenda: namely the total surveillance of citizens,” she said.
To help educate her fellow Bundestag members on the benefits of Bitcoin, Cotar has started the “Bitcoin in the Bundestag” initiative. “We need to promote the freedom aspects of Bitcoin. This includes protecting privacy, ensuring security standards, and preventing excessive regulation to maximize the benefits of Bitcoin,” she said.
While she is clearly pro-Bitcoin, Cotar said that other crypto assets are not really of interest to her.
“Establishing a formal Bundestag committee that recognizes the technological differences between Bitcoin and other crypto assets and mainly deals with the importance of Bitcoin for our society is very important for us,” she said. “My initiative is Bitcoin only.”
With the EU preparing to implement the recently passed Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation that establishes a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets in the European Union, it’s unclear what role Bitcoin will play in the grand scheme of things, and whether it will be able to gain legal tender status, but Cotar intends to keep the conversation going by drawing more attention to Bitcoin, its capabilities, and the role of sound money in the financial system.
Currently, Bitcoin is only considered legal tender in two countries: El Salvador and the Central African Republic (CAR). The adoption of BTC as legal tender in Germany would mark the most significant act of adoption at the governmental level, and could influence other nations to reconsider their stance on Bitcoin, especially given Germany’s substantial economic influence in Europe and around the world.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
