Crypto Adoption: Another Town Accepts Taxes in BTC, AirBnB Crypto News
Although we’d love to see it happen in a single day, cryptocurrency mass adoption takes time. Two new examples show that it is indeed inching towards being generally accepted. The Ontario town of Innisfil has announced that they will be accepting cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin first, for property taxes payments during a trial that will last a year. Meanwhile, Sweden-based crypto gift card provider Bitrefill now lets you book AirBnB rentals in the US using five different cryptocurrencies.
Innisfil residents will be able to pay taxes with Bitcoin through a wallet called Coinberry Pay. The funds, sent in Bitcoin, will then be converted to the Canadian dollar and transferred to the town. Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and XRP may follow, according to national news agency The Canadian Press. The trial period for this payment option will last a year, starting in April.
Innisfil, which is a home for 36,000 people, is far from the first jurisdiction to implement such a solution. The US state of Ohio accepts tax payments in Bitcoin as of November 2018 for companies, and hopes to allow individuals to do so as well “eventually.” Other places that accept tax in crypto include Zug and Chiasso, two Swiss municipalities, and South Africa, all with varying amounts of success. However, it seems that paying taxes in crypto is not popular at this stage.
Meanwhile, gift card provider Bitrefill announced that they will enable their users to purchase of AirBnB gift cards using Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and Dash. However, this service is currently only available for US residents, and redeemable with a US-based payment method. Further constraints include the fact that these gift cards can only be used for reservations lasting less than 28 days, and can only be purchased in denominations of USD 25, USD 50, and USD 100. After the purchase, users will get a voucher code from AirBnB, along with instructions for use.
Also, last week, the company announced that their users can now purchase Netflix, a major streaming service, subscription.
On the other side of the coin, popular online streaming service Twitch has recently halted support for Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash subscriptions without an official explanation. The community is speculating that it could be due to lack of demand – however, there is currently no data available that could support this theory. Other reasons, as put forward by the community on Reddit, may include price volatility and the fact that many streamers were simply unaware that they could be giving and accepting donations in crypto.
