31/07/18

You Can Now Buy Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship with Bitcoin

(Bitcoin News) -- The Lower House of Parliament passed a resolution July, amending Antigua and Barbuda’s Citizenship by Investment Programme Act. The move allows individuals to purchase citizenship for the country with Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies. The act also extended the capacity for payments in Euros.

Speaking on the matter, the country’s Prime Minister, Gaston Browne, noted:

“Not only are we providing the capacity for payment in Euros, but we are also proving for payments using bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.”

Going further, the country’s Prime Minister also noted that “moving money” is important. As such, he added:

“So it is quintessential that we have a payment mechanism that could facilitate payments in cryptocurrencies.”

Browne also outlined that by making a move of this kind, the country is expanding its market substantially. This is because it has numerous cryptocurrency investors who might be willing to purchase a citizenship but only if they are allowed to pay in cryptocurrencies.

Understanding the need to stay competitive even at a governmental level, the Prime Minister noted:

“If you do not accept the cryptocurrency then you would be literally locked out of that market.”

Regardless, the country’s position on cryptocurrencies remains fairly distant, realizing their rather nascent stage of development and substantial volatility. Attesting to this is the fact that the country won’t be holding any amounts of cryptocurrencies. Instead, it will immediately convert them to US dollars on a daily basis.