Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has recommended that charges could possibly be paid with cryptocurrency in future years, regardless of the market crashing by $2 trillion — greater than half of its complete worth — over the previous six months.
Key factors:
- A charges enhance of about 4 per cent is anticipated for Gold Coast residents this 12 months
- It’s highest in a decade however beneath CPI of 5.1 per cent
- The mayor says utilizing cryptocurrency would ship an revolutionary “sign” to youthful ratepayers, however an educational says extra analysis is required
Because the council prepares at hand down its annual finances on June 14, Gold Coast residents can count on to see a charges rise of at the least 4 per cent — the very best enhance in 10 years.
However Mr Tate has additionally introduced that council will search to rent a chief funding officer from the non-public sector to encourage “innovation” and examine “joint ventures” on council-owned land.
“Why cannot we pay charges on cryptocurrency if the danger isn’t excessive?” he stated.
“It sends a sign that we’re revolutionary and produce within the youthful technology … [but] I am not saying we’re doing it, I am simply saying we’re all the time trying on the subsequent degree.”
Whereas a nationwide blockchain business group has welcomed the prospect, a cryptocurrency researcher has urged extra warning.
Council wants ‘danger urge for food’
The underlying thought of cryptocurrency is that it creates a technique of fee that cuts out the intermediary, like a financial institution.
Whereas many discover the expertise complicated, chair of business physique Blockchain Australia Adam Poulton stated cryptocurrency was “simply one other type of cash” with an alternate fee linked to the Australian greenback.
“They’ll select to obtain that Bitcoin and maintain it themselves, or they’ll truly alternate that Bitcoin into Australian {dollars}, referencing that alternate fee, and have these Australian {dollars} flip up of their checking account.”
However contemplating the value fluctuations cryptocurrencies expertise, together with the existence of scams and the latest market crash, Mr Poulton stated “the council would wish to have a look at [its] danger urge for food”.
“The very last thing they’d need to do is settle for $2,000 price of charges, maintain it in Bitcoin and for the Bitcoin value to halve,” he stated.
“The opposite danger is the Bitcoin may go up in worth they usually’ll even have three or 4 thousand {dollars}.”
He stated council may as a substitute settle for 95 per cent of a charges invoice in Australian {dollars} and the remaining 5 per cent in cryptocurrency.
“We’re glad to danger that different 5 per cent and really maintain that and see what future use circumstances could possibly be used with it,” he stated.
“However there’s a whole lot of stuff it’s important to turn out to be conversant in to make use of and work together with cryptocurrency in a protected strategy to shield your monetary wealth.”
Extra time wanted for schooling
Affiliate Professor Vallipuram Muthukkumarasamy from Griffith College’s Faculty of Info and Communication Expertise stated the mainstreaming of cryptocurrency had been spoken about for years however it nonetheless remained a “speculative funding”.
“In 2015, in that period, numerous hype was there pondering ‘it’ll take over in a 12 months or two’,” he stated.
He stated whereas the underlying expertise had “a whole lot of alternative”, implementing it was the problem when it got here to massive bureaucratic organisations like native authorities.
“It is a paradigm shift, it is a new expertise,” he stated.
“Council charges, it is open for that, it is definitively a chance however then acceptance, verifying the expertise and implementing that, are points.
“Lots of studying must occur and the boldness constructing must occur with that.”
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