Estcoin: Estonian National Cryptocurrency

The buzz around cryptocurrencies reached its peak when the value of bitcoin soared to a record high of $4,500 on August 18. Now it seems that Estonia, one of the countries with the highest levels of mobile broadband penetration in the world, also wants to join the party. The county's administration is pondering the possibility of introducing its own cryptocurrency called Estcoin.

The idea is to launch the virtual currency through the world’s first government-supported Initial Coin Offering (ICO), a way to raise capital that gives investors virtual coins or tokens without giving up any equity stakes.

The state-backed digital currency under consideration would be tied to the country’s e-residency program. So far, more than 22,000 applicants from around the world signed up to this government-issued digital identity for foreigners wanting to start businesses in Estonia.

"A government-supported ICO would give more people a bigger stake in the future of our country and provide not just investment, but also more expertise and ideas to help us grow exponentially," said CNBC coutes Kaspar Korjus, managing director at e-Residency.

Although the proposal is clearly a far-fetched idea, it has already met with some positive reactions. Vitalik Buterin, founder of the blockchain network Ethereum, is apparently all in.  

"An ICO within the e-residency ecosystem would create a strong incentive alignment between e-residents and this fund, and beyond the economic aspect makes the e-residents feel like more of a community since there are more things they can do together," Buterin said.

Who knows, maybe indeed it's time for the cryptocurrency to renounce its anarcho-libertarian roots. In fact, Estonia isn't the first state to look into starting its own digital currency — China's and Russia's central banks already got this idea too.