The City Council of Zug, Switzerland, also known as Crypto Valley, has announced that the bitcoin pilot project that kicked off in July will be made permanent.

Announced in May 2016, the pilot project allowed local residents to pay for public services using bitcoin with payments initially limited to an equivalent of 200 francs.

“At its meeting on 13 December 2016, the City Council decided to continue accepting Bitcoins as a means of payment. Other electronic funds such as Twint and ApplePay will be evaluated in the coming weeks. The city council also examines a blockchain application”, the official announcement reads (Google-translated).

Although only a dozen customers wanted to pay with Bitcoins since July, the release said that for the city administration, the pilot project was worth it. 

"It was an important experience for us to install and test the technology for bitcoin payments. We were able to put a sign against the Fin-Tech company in Zug and express that they are welcome here. We have thus triggered an incredible international media frenzy which lasted until last week”, President Dolfi Müller said.

With this positive experience, the City Council said that it will evaluate other electronic means of payments. In addition to electronic payment methods, it also wants to examine applications of blockchain technology. 

“Experts see various application possibilities in this technology for the public sector in the future.  Furthermore, digitisation and E-Government will be central topics in the coming year for the municipality”, it added.