Crypto enthusiasts have gotten something to cheer about as El Salvador yesterday adopted the Bitcoin cryptocurrency as legal tender becoming the first country in the world to do so in the process.
The adoption came after President Nayib Bukele’s proposals to embrace cryptocurrency were approved by congress.
Africa Daily News, New York understands that on Tuesday night, lawmakers voted in favour of the plan with 62 out of 84 possible votes.
The country’s president made the proposal at a Bitcoin conference over the weekend.
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The approval means that the cryptocurrency can be used for any transactions in El Salvador – unless a business is unable to provide the technology needed.
People won’t be forced to use Bitcoin and the US dollar will remain the country’s official currency.
Mr. Bukele said his government had made history by becoming the first nation to use Bitcoin as legal tender.
Other countries in the list include South America, including Venezuela and the Bahamas, have introduced digital currencies, though none had adopted the original cryptocurrency, Bitcoin.
Mr. Bukele has said the move would increase financial inclusion, investment, tourism, innovation, and economic development.
The 39-year-old Mr Bukele, a populist who was elected in 2019 as a political outsider amid discontent over violence and poverty, surprised cryptocurrency devotees when he first announced his government planned to adopt bitcoin over the weekend. Known for his black leather jackets and baseball caps are worn backwards, Mr Bukele has a ‘laser eyes’ picture on his Twitter profile, a social-media fixture of cryptocurrency aficionados.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
