Prince Filip Karađorđević, known as Philip Karageorgevich in English, has dampened rumors that an Arab country may “soon” accept bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender. In an interview from Serbia, the prince explained that the adoption of bitcoin is inevitable for all countries.
After the thesis he shared for the first time on a podcast Bitcoin Reserves, media outlets jumped on his comments. Newspaper headlines announcing that an Arab country might soon adopt bitcoin were quickly retweeted. However, as a bitcoin advocate, Philip explained that the adoption of bitcoin is, in fact, inevitable for all countries and not just Arab states:
“It will definitely happen. But I don’t know which country or who is going to do it, where or whatever, but it’s going to happen. All countries will eventually accept bitcoin. “
The prince said that bitcoin is perfectly suited to Muslim countries because “it is a perfect currency for Sharia.” Islamic law, known as Sharia, is based on the teachings of the Quran and determines whether something is permissible (halal) or unlawful (haram). As for the money, Philp argues that bitcoin is, in fact, halal and a perfect form of Islamic finance:
“It is only a matter of time before a Sharia-following Muslim country is forced to adopt it. Some of them are taking this and making a sales pitch out of it, saying, of course if a prince knows, that an Arab or Muslim country is going to adopt bitcoin soon, then it will happen.
Technically, Prince Philip is the prince of Serbia and Yugoslavia, because when the monarchy was abolished, Serbia as a country had not yet been created. “But today, of course, Yugoslavia does not exist. And since we are of Serbian origin, we are from Serbia,” Philip clarified. Today, Serbia is a parliamentary republic, although some Serbians support the creation of a parliamentary monarchy, similar to that of the United Kingdom.
Philip burst onto the bitcoin scene in March this year when he appeared on a chat show. He explained the difference between Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, and said that “Bitcoin is free, and that’s what I want for everyone.”
Philip told Cointelegraph that the three-minute video changed his life. He was a guest at the Miami Bitcoin Conference 2022 and even participated in the visit of the President of Madeira to bitcoin.
As for the adoption of bitcoin in Serbia, unfortunately, the prince cannot wave a royal wand and create a Serbian-style Salvador in Europe. However, Serbia’s adoption of Bitcoin has several advantages, the Prince notes:
“There are many Serbs in the world. It is a huge diaspora. I think the biggest concentration or the biggest diaspora is in Canada and then in Chicago.”
The use case for remittances for the approximately 5 million Serbians who live outside of Serbia and regularly send money home is very strong. Since bitcoin transcends borders, giving people a way to send value instantly around the world without an intermediary, it could support the Serbian economy. In El Salvador, in the first year of bitcoin adoption, remittances to the country exceeded $50 million.
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In addition, Serbia is a neighbor of the Free Republic of Liberland. Liberland, a micronation located on a thin strip of land along the Danube, adopted bitcoin as a currency more than seven years ago. There is evidence of Bitcoin advocacy in the Balkan region.
Moreover, one of the most decorated tennis players in the world, Novak Djokovic, is a Serbian. He is also a defender of freedom and has strong anti-state views. In the eyes of the prince, it is “a clear orange pill that must come, 100%”.
