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El Salvador is going all-in on Bitcoin by making it a legal currency

The Salvadoran Congress passed the Bitcoin Law with 62 out of 84 votes.

bitcoin cryptocurrency on table
Image: Unsplash

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Bitcoin is still trying to find its place in the “real” world but between its heavy toll on the environment and drastic price fluctuations, it can make it difficult. That said, one country in Central America is making the leap towards adoption by making Bitcoin an actual legal tender.

El Salvador is the first country to ever pass a law, called the Bitcoin Law, that makes the cryptocurrency a legal tender. The country’s current official currency is the US dollar.

President Nayib Bukele announced on Twitter that the Salvadoran Congress passed the Bitcoin Law with 62 out of 84 votes.

https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1402507224916836352

In the legislation for the Bitcoin Law, it is noted that “The purpose of this law is to regulate bitcoin as unrestricted legal tender with liberating power, unlimited in any transaction, and to any title that public or private natural or legal persons require carrying out.”

So why Bitcoin? The Bitcoin Law states that nearly 70% of people in El Salvador do not have access to traditional banking and financial services and this should help more people gain access while promoting economic growth.

CoinDesk also reports that El Salvador will require all businesses to accept Bitcoin, but that the government would “act as a backstop for entities that aren’t willing to take on the risk of a volatile cryptocurrency.”

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Former KnowTechie editor.

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