At the end of January 2022, Belgian member of parliament Christophe De Beukelaer became the first European politician to convert his salary to Bitcoin (BTC). Celebrating the anniversary of this experiment, Cointelegraph reached out to lawmakers to learn more about their experience.
Back in 2022, Beukelaer, who represents the Humanist Democratic Center (CDH) party, noted the example of New York City Mayor Eric Adams and how American politicians are working to create the original country or city Bitcoin hub to justify their decision. The Brussels MP’s monthly salary of EUR 5,500 ($6,140) will be converted into Bitcoin using the Bit4You crypto trading platform.
related: Belgium says BTC, ETH and other decentralized coins are not securities
“I think this political action is paid in Bitcoin to defend political ideas,” shares Beukelaer, mentioning four: defending financial freedom and economic opportunities and combating financial illiteracy and growth models. The last one is perhaps the most interesting, because the parliamentarian, who calls himself a “pragmatic environmentalist,” sees a clear connection between Bitcoin and the environmental clause:
“What does the central bank do when it prints money as it has done in recent years? It gives the illusion of unlimited resources and thus encourages all economic actors to produce and consume more.
Beukelaer considers the experiment a success in putting Belgium on the global crypto map and encouraging local officials to learn about digital assets:
“Many politicians say to themselves: ‘De Beukelaer is not an anarchist. If he is interested in Bitcoin, there must be something interesting behind it.'”
Is it comfortable in practical terms? A positive answer is unimaginable, given the BTC drop from almost $38,000 in January 2022 to $17,246 by press time in January 2023, but MP did not consider the experiment an economic strategy from the start:
“This is a political act and not a financial act. It’s like growing a mustache in November to fight prostate cancer. I put this salary in Bitcoin in a cold wallet every month and I haven’t been touched. My goal is not to live in crypto.
While the first major step towards Pan-European regulation is taking place, Beukelaer highlighted the Market’s reservation in the Crypto asset law (MiCA): the enormous constraints imposed on the private holding of crypto or the way stablecoins are treated.
Europe is approaching difficult times, say politicians, citing energy supply and climate crises, and the rise of authoritarian leaders. In this regard, Western countries will understand the usefulness of crypto.