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One of Portugal’s energy companies is looking to bring Bitcoin payments to the country’s local market, capitalizing on the asset’s recent performances.
Pedro Morais Leitão, the President of energy trading firm Luzboa, announced that the firm was working to develop a Bitcoin payment portal for citizens to make utility bill payments more comfortably.
Expanded APplication, not Increased Adoption
Speaking with local news source Expresso, Leitão explained that Luzboa is in the process of creating a Bitcoin wallet that will allow residents to make electricity payments easily. The new payment system, known as “Bit Spot,” will see Luzboa directly convert received Bitcoins into Euros. The Viseu-based firm is hoping to avoid price volatilities and would rather not custody any Bitcoins.
As Leitão explained, the primary objective behind the move is to “capture a niche market.”
The firm understands that Portugal’s Bitcoin industry is on the rise, and they are merely looking to provide more an additional use case for Bitcoin holders to spend the asset. So, the motive is more about improving Bitcoin’s use as opposed to bringing more people into contact with the leading cryptocurrency.
Leitão added that work on “Bit Spot” is moving along nicely, and Luzbaao hopes to have the Bitcoin payment option up and running before the month runs out.
Bitcoin’s Use Cases Grow
Luzboa appears to be conducting a first in Portugal. Still, it seems to be passing up on an opportunity to earn by not storing Bitcoin. Sentiment surrounding the leading cryptocurrency has been rising significantly over the past few weeks, as Bitcoin has delivered almost 100 percent returns and gas cracked the $50,000 mark.
Top auto manufacturer Tesla announced this month that it would allow Bitcoin purchases for vehicles in the future. The company made it clear that it would not be converting these Bitcoins into fiat in its announcement. Instead, it would hold and add them to its Bitcoin reserves, which already have $1.5 billion in BTC.
Still, as far as use cases go, Luzbao’s gesture isn’t so bad. In the United States, Miami is treading a path to make the same move, as pro-crypto Mayor Francis Suarez has been pumping the leading cryptocurrency for a while now.
Last week, the City Commission of Miami voted overwhelmingly in support of Mayor Suarez’s Bitcoin initiatives, which would include paying workers’ salaries in crypto, allowing citizens to pay utilities in Bitcoin, and holding some of the city’s reserves in the asset. Announcing the news on Twitter, Suarez said:
“I wanna thank the city of Miami commissioners for supporting my resolution, which directs a city manager after analysis to procure a vendor to be able to offer our employees to get a percentage of their salary in Bitcoin; allows our residents to pay for fees in Bitcoin.”
Bloomberg added that the resolution had passed 4 to 1 on the City Commission. However, it is still in its exploratory phase, as several commissioners voted to analyze the risk of incorporating Bitcoin on such a large scale.
Suarez has also claimed that he will be looking to make Miami the most crypto-forward city in the United States. The Mayor is looking to develop progressive laws that will attract investment, while also improving citizens’ ability to use cryptocurrencies for various applications. Undoubtedly, utility payments will be one of such use cases.
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