Bitcoin in a Swiss City

 

Vocabulary

attract	inflamed	take care of
gums	patient	practice (2)
sector	artificial	alternative
so far	decade	fluctuation
ideal	location	intelligence (2)
fee	pioneer	unprecedented
virtual	resident	artificial intelligence
lack	support	transparency
crypto	currency	transaction
ensure	opinion	exchange rate
insert	as soon as	toothache
incur	volatile	nanoseconds
access	massive	in a matter of
gain	slip (2)	speculative
scan	exchange	otherwise
allow	transfer	cost effective
hope	advantage	developed world
range	volume

 

 

Video: Bitcoins in a Swiss City

 

Transcript

For the past decade, Dr. Abbas Hussain Probst has been taking care of inflamed gums and toothaches. His practice is located in the Swiss city of Zug.

Patients usually pay in francs — but recently, they’ve been able to use an alternative.

Abbas Hussain Probst, Dentist in Zug, Switzerland: “Here it’s possible to pay in bitcoin. It’s a virtual currency, and we’ve began accepting it a year ago.”

So far, he says only a few patients have paid with bitcoins, all of them in the IT sector.

Zug is known for its ideal location and low taxes. Now the city wants to become a bitcoin pioneer. Residents can use the digital currency to pay community fees of up to 200 francs, something unprecedented elsewhere in the world.

Zug Resident One: “I know too little about it. In general, I’m not against bitcoins.

Zug Resident, Two: “It has to do with artificial intelligence, with robotics. I think it’s a new development, and I support it.

What do you think?”

Zug Residents, Three: “I think it’s a difficult market. In my opinion, it still lacks transparency.”

Mayor Dolfi Muller calls his vision, Crypto-Valley Zug, and wants to attract financial and technology companies.

The city is open to new ideas and bitcoins, a speculative currency with volatile exchange rates.

Dolfi Muller, Mayor of Zug, Switzerland: “There really are fluctuations. But as soon as we receive bitcoins, we can exchange them for Swiss francs. There’s an exchange for them, and that ensures that we don’t incur massive losses in a matter of nanoseconds.”

To gain access to bitcoins, it’s necessary to go to Zurich. Café Schophel has one of the few bitcoin machines. After inserting francs or euros, buyers receive a slip of paper.

Once it’s scanned, it can be used for payments. Besides buying a cup of coffee here, the virtual currency offers a range of other advantages.

Niklas Nikolajsen, Bitcoin Suisse CEO: “You do not need bank to transfer money anytime anywhere also in the middle of the night. It’s very cost effective. It’s very fast.

It allows for micropayments. And also it allows for people to connect to the global economy in the developed world, which they otherwise couldn’t.”

The current volume of transactions with bitcoin remains very low. But the city of Zug hopes that will soon change.

Questions

1. Most of the dentist’s patients pay with bitcoins. True or false?

2. Does everyone in Zug know about bitcoins very well?

3. Is Zug pro or anti-business? What does the mayor want? Are they open to new ideas?

4. What is the concept behind bitcoins?

5. Bitcoins are actual, metal coins. Is this right or wrong?

6. Can people buy anything with bitcoins, from a cup of coffee to a car and house?

7. Do experts in Zug believe bitcoins will become more popular and widespread?

 

A. Can bitcoins be used in your city? Are they used in your city?

B. What do you think about bitcoins? Is it “better” than conventional money?

C. Are there any disadvantages, drawbacks or potential problems with bitcoins?

D. Do other alternative forms of money, currencies and payments exist?

E. What will happen in the future?