In an interesting move, a Swedish city has involved the use of cryptocurrencies in their national cleanliness program. Reportedly, the Swedish city of Malmö has launched its latest cleaning initiative that would allow residents to earn Buttcoin along with certain some cryptocurrencies.
Sources reveal that the city actively implements innovative initiatives to enhance cleanliness and hygiene standards. In its new project, the city is encouraging smokers to dispose of their cigarette butts responsibly and it comes after the success of last year’s moaning bins initiative.
Jessica Persson, the cleaning coordinator for Malmö, briefed the local media about the simple concept behind the project. She highlighted that each cigarette butt deposited in the special ashtrays would earn the picker-upper 800 Buttcoins.
According to local media reports, the value of the disposal is going to be equivalent to the fine imposed for littering in local currency terms. The idea behind the Buttcoin crypto is to gamify the otherwise mundane but essential cleaning process. Persson also says she intends to turning it into a competition among residents to see who can responsibly dispose of the most cigarette butts.
Sources reveal that the citizens cannot exchange Buttcoin for real money as it is not a traditional cryptocurrency. However, participants can win prizes, including real cryptocurrencies like Ethereum. Additionally, throughout the summer, random prizes will also be raffled among active participants.
Talking of the process, sources reveal that to earn Buttcoins, smokers must scan the QR code on the ashtrays or bins. They need to take a picture when disposing of their cigarette butts. The competition runs until August 21, and the user with the highest number of Buttcoins will be declared the winner. Additionally, Malmö wants to bring environmental responsibility and competitive energy together by introducing Buttcoin.
Although the term “Buttcoin” is a tongue-in-cheek pun referring to cigarette butts, it was first used by a foundation that regularly expressed concerns about the safety and reliability of the Bitcoin network. Reportedly, Buttcoin is neither a real cryptocurrency or financial term. Talking of the regulatory environment for digital assets in Sweden, there are initiatives to enact more specific regulations. However, a few crypto-related laws exist in Sweden and the European Union (EU) in large.
For instance, the European Commission proposed the Markets in Crypto-assets Regulation (MiCA) in 2020. The scheduled implementation of the comprehensive framework is set for 2024. Cryptocurrency businesses in the country must currently register with the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (SFSA) to operate legally.
Additionally, Sweden which served as the hub for Bitcoin miners due to the availability of electricity faces an uncertain future amid the talks of taxation. The abolition of tax incentives in Sweden is expected to hamper the mining industry in the region.
The tax is going to increase from SEK 0.006 ($0.0006) to SEK 0.36 ($0.035) per kilowatt hour (kWh) starting July of this year, making mining “prohibitively expensive” in Sweden. However, amid these updates, the city authorities putting cryptocurrencies as incentives show light for the sector and could also become relatively popular in the coming times.
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