Liechtenstein\'s Crown Prince Alois has suggested that new technologies might help his royal family to restore their lost fortunes. The German-speaking Central European principality is traditionally used by many companies as a tax haven. It is a mere speck on the European political map, with a tiny population numbering fewer than 40,000. Although it has made attempts in the past to get away from the tax haven status, and become a legitimate financial centre, most of the principality\'s wealth still comes from tax dodgers.

Much of the royal wealth was originally held in its rare art collection, largely lost in the Second World War. Liechtenstein lies to the north, east and south of Switzerland and to the west of Austria and is nominally ruled by Crown Prince Alois\' father, the Prince of Liechtenstein. Much of that stolen art has now been restored to the family and their finances are in better order, but the family may well look to other assets for investment, including cryptocurrencies. In line with many prospective investors, the Crown Prince believes that the blockchain technology might have beneficial uses for civil administration, but that the currencies themselves were still a big risk.

The cryptocurrency market took a big hit last week, and bitcoin itself continues to drop well below $8,000.