ICF Church, an evangelical church in Zurich, Switzerland, is set to begin accepting Bitcoin donations from its parishioners.
The common assumption with most churches is that they’re conservative and are beholden to time-honored traditions. While this is often true in many regards, a number of churches are actually quite keen on adopting the latest innovations that technology has brought to bear. Case in point is a church in Switzerland that is set to begin accepting Bitcoin donations.
Virtual Tithing
The cryptocurrency-accepting church is ICF Church, located in Zurich, Switzerland. It’s an evangelical church and among the largest in the country. Its parishioners are actually pretty young, and the church itself is a big proponent of cutting-edge technologies.
It is for those reasons that accepting Bitcoin donations makes perfect sense for the church. ICF Church spokesman Nicolas Legler told the local media:
Digital currencies and the blockchain technology will change our daily lives more and more in the next years.
Cryptocurrencies will be implemented, be it Bitcoin or other currencies controlled by the State. We are convinced that this technology will soon belong to our daily lives.
Keeping Current with New Tech
It makes perfect sense for the ICF Church in Zurich, Switzerland, to accept cryptocurrency. Many churches have long seized upon technological innovations to spread their ministry, from using radio to broadcast to rural audiences to having online sermons people can download and view at their leisure.
The church in Zurich raises all of its revenue from its parishioners. Being younger, they are more tuned into the latest technological trends, such as crypto, and it doesn’t hurt that Switzerland has been working to establish itself as a crypto hub.
Bitmain Technologies, the large Chinese Bitcoin mining operation, is expanding to Switzerland due to China doing everything possible to end crypto mining within its country. It was also just a few years ago that the Swiss city of Zug started a pilot project where citizens could pay for government services via bitcoins. (One wonders if the city decided to hodl any of those bitcoins or not. If it did, then the city made a huge profit.)
As cryptocurrency becomes more accepted, it’ll likely become a common sight to see a church passing around their wallet address instead of the collection plate.
What do you think about the ICF Church in Zurich beginning to accept Bitcoin donations? Will cryptocurrency replace fiat donations down the road? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Pixabay, and Bitcoinist archives.
