Spanish MP receives 1 Euro worth of cryptocurrency, sender aims to promote industry development

All 350 members of Spain’s lower house of parliament received 1 euro worth of cryptocurrency, which was not a donation.

By EMILIA DAVID

Translated by: Zion Editor: Rose

Members of Spain’s lower house of parliament got a surprise in their inboxes when they received the equivalent of 1 euro in cryptocurrency.

According to Spanish news outlet ABC, the initiative is being led by Tutellus, a decentralized education technology platform that aims to tokenize educational technology, and the Blockchain Observatory. The goal of the initiative is to promote the use of cryptocurrencies in Spain.

All 350 members of the Spanish lower house of parliament received the equivalent of 1 euro in cryptocurrency in their emails. Tutellus founder Miguel Caballero said the goal of the initiative is to raise awareness of the role of cryptocurrency in future society:

In addition to highlighting the important role that cryptocurrencies play today, we have explained to our esteemed members that we are in an era of great change in the use of money.

Caballero said cryptocurrencies are “not donations” and acknowledged that some members of Congress may be more familiar with cryptocurrencies. But for those who haven’t used them yet, it’s an opportunity to learn more.

Spain is not the first country to send cryptocurrency to members of Congress. In early October, the U.S. Chamber of Digital Commerce’s political action committee (PAC) sent $50 worth of Bitcoin to 541 members of Congress, Decrypt reported.

Spanish banks have become more interested in cryptocurrencies and blockchain over the past few years. Santander partnered with Ripple to build a blockchain-based payments platform, while Spanish bank BBVA launched a study to explore zero-knowledge proofs and other cryptographic techniques.

The European Central Bank also announced that it would study a digital euro by 2021 and published a report exploring its possible impact on retail markets.