It is no longer news that Bitcoin and other digital assets have continued to gain mainstream adoption in terms of the number of people trading the digital asset. While that is already seen as a win, Bitcoin’s adoption as a currency is a more complex issue.
The country of El Salvador has made a massive step in legitimizing Bitcoin as a currency, as the country has passed a law which will see it adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. The proposal was submitted to the country’s Legislative Aseembly by president Nayib Bukele.
62 lawmakers voted for the new Bitcoin law
Out of a total of 84 possible votes, 62 lawmakers cast their vote in favor of the new law that would see the country adopt the leading digital asset.
In a previous statement, president Bukele mentioned the roles that Bitcoin would play in helping citizens of the country send funds back home to their people while stating clearly that the United States dollar would still remain accepted as legal tender, together with Bitcoin. In a tweet that the president made after the vote, he mentioned that Bitcoin would cater for the unbanked by promoting financial inclusion.
He also pointed out that it could also promote investments in the country and bring about economic development. Bukele said that using Bitcoin for transactions would be at the users’ discretion as they would not force people who are not interested in using the asset. He also mentioned that the government would guarantee exchanges between BTC and USD through a trust that will be created in the leading bank of the country, BANDESAL.
According to the new law, businesses and investments are subjected to accept payments for goods and services if anyone wants to pay for them using the digital asset. Also, any citizen who wishes to pay their tax with crypto can do so.
Despite El Salvador accepting Bitcoin as a legal tender, the impact of the move on the adoption and regulation across other countries is still an unanswered question.
In the following months, it is unlikely that we will see other countries towing the path of El Salvador by making Bitcoin a legal tender. According to experts and analysts, we will know if this update would spur countries into making Bitcoin legal tender or it would further push them away from the digital assets in the coming days.
