Are churches missing out in the bitcoin boom?

Earlier this summer, a church on England’s south coast made headlines, when it declared it was going to accept bitcoin as donations. 

Sean Theunissen, elder and operations lead at Claygate Church, based in Bournemouth, Southbourne and Poole, emphasised: “Bitcoin is not the gospel 2.0 – the church will never move away from its central message.”

Bitcoin, explains the Cambridge Dictionary, is “a brand name for a type of cryptocurrency, a digital currency that is produced by a public network rather than any government, and uses special codes to keep it secret.” Its use has been increasing across the world. 

Mr Theunissen added, “The Bible is always speaking against injustice, corruption and dodgy scales. From what I can see, Bitcoin is not on a trajectory towards evil. It seems to be trying to get rid of some of the corruptions in traditional monetary systems.”

The church, part of the New Frontiers network, believes that digital currencies may present opportunities for strengthening its international partnerships, and streamlining the church’s support for them. 

Mr Theunissen explained: “We’ve definitely had issues with intermediary banks getting in the way of things in the past. As Bitcoin grows, who knows, potentially it will help reduce delays in getting help where it’s needed most. We want to support projects going on in different places. It’s a relational thing, but there’s also money that goes alongside that.”