THE Republic of El Salvador, a country in Central America, has officially adopted Bitcoin as its legal tender.
This is coming three months after a law regulating the production and usage of Bitcoin was passed into law by the country’s legislature.
According to the law, every economic agent must accept bitcoin as a legal form of payment under the law.
The passing of the law, which is now dubbed ‘Bitcoin Law,’ has had significant resistance from international bodies, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
It has also witnessed stiff resistance by the country’s opposition party named the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), which had filed a lawsuit against the law citing that the Bitcoin adoption program was unconstitutional.
Even with so much criticism of the Bitcoin law, many in the cryptocurrency community are excited that a nation is adopting Bitcoin as a legal tender.
The Bank of America recently outlined at least four potential benefits to El Salvador accepting Bitcoin.
In a report published in July, the bank said the country’s adoption of BTC could streamline remittances, promote financial digitization, provide greater consumer choice and open the country to foreign investors.
The government stated that the adult population of El Salvador would receive $30 worth of Bitcoin when they use the government-issued wallet called Chivo.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele announced that the country has bought 400 BTC and is expected to buy more.
The government has been able to install over 200 government-backed crypto ATMs, which would allow local citizens to exchange between Bitcoin and USD without paying commissions.
Last week, El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly also passed legislation to create a $150 million Bitcoin Trust to support the development of crypto infrastructure and services across the country.
The Trust is designed to facilitate the conversion of Bitcoin into United States dollars and support the rollout of vital technological infrastructure enabling widespread adoption of crypto assets.
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