Great news coming from Prague, Czech Republic today, a major energy company announced that they will start accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment for their services. Pražská Plynárenská is a public utility company delivering mainly the natural gas to citizens of Prague. As the government's stance on cryptocurrencies usually ranges from neutral (what is Bitcoin?) to negative (it's bad because we cannot control it), it is surprising to see such development in a municipally owned corporation. It should be noted that in the past, the city councilors have done nothing to make Prague a smart city, so this is a totally different situation from Zug in Switzerland (https://steemit.com/crypto-news/@acoustickitty/swiss-town-of-zug-is-crypto-valley).
Although enabling payment in Bitcoin is considered more of a publicity stunt by the company, the intention here does not necessarily matter. From June, 400 000 customers will have the chance to pay their energy bill in Bitcoin and given the relative popularity of cryptocurrencies among the Czechs, some might use this opportunity. Amidst the discussions about the taxation of crypto-profits, it is crucial that there are more possibilities to use cryptocurrencies for everyday transactions. The less dependent on fiat money we become, the better.
Source (in Czech): https://byznys.ihned.cz/c1-66146820-prazska-plynarenska-zacne-od-klientu-prijimat-bitcoin-chceme-se-priblizit-mladym-a-nebyt-vnimani-jako-stary-moloch-rika-vedeni
P.S. I was paying for my lunch in Bitcoin yesterday, and the owner told me that I was the first customer to do so since the prices went up last fall. If we really want cryptocurrencies to get adopted quickly, we should use them more often. Hodling is nice, but spending is pretty good too. :)