El Salvador: First country to make Bitcoin legal tender

The largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin has become a legal tender in  El Salvador. On Monday, the country’s Congress approved  President Nayib Bukele’s proposal to grant legal status to Bitcoin.

“With 62 votes, the legislative plenary session approves the #LeyBitcoin with which El Salvador adopts the #Bitcoin as legal currency,” stated President Nayib. 

Nayib Bukele is the country’s first millennial president and encouraged the idea of using Bitcoin to help Salvadorans living abroad to send remittances back home. In a tweet, Bukele said that Bitcoin will bring financial inclusion, tourism, investment, economic development, and innovation to the country. 

“In the short term, this will generate jobs and help provide financial inclusion to thousands outside the formal economy and in the medium and long term we hope that this small decision can help us push humanity at least a tiny bit into the right direction,” President further added.

Blockchain Implementation Specialist Martijn Bolt predicts that “El Salvador will turn into a financial powerhouse of the future".

The official currency of the country is the US dollar. El Salvador’s dollarized economy relies heavily on money sent back from workers abroad. World Bank data showed remittances to the country made up nearly $6 billion or around a fifth of GDP in 2019, one of the highest ratios in the world.