Following the position adopted by the “Commission de surveillance du secteur financier” (CSSF) in February 2014, considering bitcoins as scriptural money and therefore, as a mean of payment, CoinPlus, an agency of the virtual currency Bitcoin created on July 7th in Luxembourg, will meet the regulator at the end of September.

“We are aware that there are still a number of steps to take before reaching the Grail, but we are optimistic and foresee another funding round in 2014”, says Christian Bodt, CEO of CoinPlus. “The choice of Luxembourg was obvious to us. The country offers state-of-the-art technical and administrative infrastructures, providers at the forefront of technology, the proximity of the government and great open-mindedness. The Luxembourg market is also a safe bet for all the players in the financial world”.

CoinPlus has joined the Technoport, the State owned incubator located in Esch-Belval, whose support programme for start-ups has largely facilitated the creation and arrival of the company. The objective of CoinPlus is to develop a multi-support payment processor, a currency exchange platform and to enable secure transfers of funds.

At only 34, Christian Bodt, has always been passionate about peer-to-peer technologies. He gained experience in the world of finance as a specialist in the Python development of "grid computing” applications. "I discovered Bitcoin in 2010 and I became quickly very interested in its specificities, economic impact and general functioning", he confesses. "I had the opportunity in 2011 to meet with Gavin Andresen, technical leader in the Bitcoin project. This convinced me to implement my first Bitcoin customer. I also participated in the creation of the first Bitcoin community in London and I created the Bitcoin 'meetup' in Paris".

Since its first appearance on the public scene, the bitcoin has been a source of controversy and countries differ regarding its acceptance and usage: private money, goods, means of exchange and payment, or investment tool. "The advantage of the unit of account bitcoin is that it can store value without any risk linked to the action of others, such as the euro for example that requires confidence in both the European financial and political system and the European Central Bank" says Christian Bodt. "I am confident in the success of bitcoin and its potential to eventually become the largest worldwide currency".