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 improve 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 progressive “sign” to youthful ratepayers, however an instructional says extra analysis is required
Because the council prepares handy down its annual funds on June 14, Gold Coast residents can count on to see a rates rise of at least 4 per cent — the very best improve in 10 years.
However Mr Tate has additionally introduced that council will search to rent a chief funding officer from the personal sector to encourage “innovation” and examine “joint ventures” on council-owned land.
“Why cannot we pay charges on cryptocurrency if the chance is just not excessive?” he mentioned.
“It sends a sign that we’re progressive and produce within the youthful era … [but] I am not saying we’re doing it, I am simply saying we’re at all times wanting on the subsequent stage.”
Whereas a nationwide blockchain business group has welcomed the prospect, a cryptocurrency researcher has urged extra warning.
Council wants ‘threat urge for food’
The underlying concept of cryptocurrency is that it creates a method of payment that cuts out the middleman, like a financial institution.
Whereas many discover the know-how complicated, chair of business physique Blockchain Australia Adam Poulton mentioned cryptocurrency was “simply one other type of cash” with an trade fee linked to the Australian greenback.
“They will select to obtain that Bitcoin and maintain it themselves, or they’ll really trade that Bitcoin into Australian {dollars}, referencing that trade fee, and have these Australian {dollars} flip up of their checking account.”
However contemplating the worth fluctuations cryptocurrencies experience, together with the existence of scams and the latest market crash, Mr Poulton mentioned “the council would want to take a look at [its] threat urge for food”.
“The very last thing they’d wish to do is settle for $2,000 price of charges, maintain it in Bitcoin and for the Bitcoin value to halve,” he mentioned.
“The opposite threat is the Bitcoin might go up in worth and so they’ll even have three or 4 thousand {dollars}.”
He mentioned council might as an alternative settle for 95 per cent of a charges invoice in Australian {dollars} and the remaining 5 per cent in cryptocurrency.
“We’re blissful to threat that different 5 per cent and truly maintain that and see what future use instances could possibly be used with it,” he mentioned.
“However there’s a variety of stuff you need 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 training
Affiliate Professor Vallipuram Muthukkumarasamy from Griffith College’s College of Info and Communication Know-how mentioned the mainstreaming of cryptocurrency had been spoken about for years however it nonetheless remained a “speculative funding”.
“In 2015, in that period, a lot of hype was there considering ‘it is going to take over in a 12 months or two’,” he mentioned.
He mentioned whereas the underlying know-how had “a variety 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 know-how,” he mentioned.
“Council charges, it is open for that, it is definitively a risk however then acceptance, verifying the know-how and implementing that, are points.
“Quite a lot of studying must occur and the arrogance constructing must occur with that.”
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