El Salvador Will Make Bitcoin Legal Tender, President Announces
El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele has announced plans to make the Central American country the first in the world to recognise Bitcoin as legal tender.
Bukele said yesterday that he will propose a bill to formally accept the cryptocurrency as legal tender, stating this will generate jobs and provide financial inclusion to thousands outside the formal economy.
“Next week, I will send to Congress a bill that makes Bitcoin legal money,” the president said during a video message to the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami.
We hope that this decision will be just the beginning in providing a space where some of the leading innovators can reimagine the future of finance, potentially helping billions around the world.
— Nayib Bukele 🇸🇻 (@nayibbukele) June 6, 2021
On Twitter, Bukele said Bitcoin has a market cap of $680 billion and that if even 1% of that is invested in El Salvador, the country’s GDP will increase by 25%.
“Furthermore, 70% of El Salvador’s population doesn’t have a bank account and work in the informal economy,” he said.
“Financial inclusion is not only a moral imperative, but also a way to grow the country’s economy, providing access to credit, savings, investment and secure transactions.”
“We hope that this decision will be just the beginning in providing a space where some of the leading innovators can reimagine the future of finance, potentially helping billions around the world.”
Do you think other countries will follow suit?
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