Predicting Trump rush, Vancouver to ‘get ahead’ on bitcoin

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Vancouver adopted a policy that could lead to it using bitcoin in city finances — prompted in part by the return of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump.

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The motion to become a “bitcoin-friendly city” and explore its possible municipal use was passed Wednesday by Vancouver city council.

“I wanted to do it for a while,” Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said in a phone interview Tuesday, prior to the council vote. “I didn’t think the public was ready to have the conversation.”

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The west coast city’s mayor decided to be more vocal about the cryptocurrency because “all of a sudden, with what happened in the States, you have a bunch of other nation-states and provinces and states all showing an indication that they’re going to do this as well,” Sim said. “And we want to get ahead of it.”

Since announcing the motion in late November, Sim has come out as an ardent bitcoin believer, calling it “the greatest invention ever in human history” and stating that conventional fiat currency is “going to zero.”

He believes bitcoin is “potentially” valued at a fraction of its future worth, though he stressed he’s not qualified to give investment advice. Bitcoin traded at about US$101,345 as of 6:27 p.m. in New York on Wednesday.

Bloomberg.com

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