Belgian MP receives Bitcoin salary for a year: Here’s what he learned
Christophe De Beukelaer considers his experiment successful, as he raised awareness among the local lawmakers. At the end of January 2022, member of the Belgian 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 a lawmaker to know more about his experience. Back in 2022, Beukelaer, who represents Humanist Democratic Centre (CDH) party, cited the example of New York City Mayor Eric Adams and how American politicians are working to make their native states or cities Bitcoin hubs to justify his decision. The Brussels MP’s monthly salary of EUR 5,500 ($6,140) was to be converted to Bitcoin using the Bit4You crypto trading platform. Related: Belgium says BTC, ETH and other decentralized coins are not securities “I did this political act of paying in Bitcoin to defend political ideas,” shares Beukelaer, citing four ones: defending financial freedom and...