El Salvador is the first country in the world to make Bitcoin an official means of payment. The vast majority of lawmakers in the Central American country’s Congress voted in favor of the Bitcoin law. The country hopes this will boost its economy. The Bitcoin price rose 5% to $34,239.17 shortly after the vote.
According to the youg president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, over 70% of his country’s population does not have a bank account. They see cryptocurrency as a way to increase financial inclusion. The option to pay with Bitcoin will facilitate access to credit, savings, investments and secure transactions, he said. In the process, it is expected to create jobs and boost the economy.
A historic decision
This decision is historic, writes Nayib Bukele on Twitter. Bukele was able to push the law through Congress with the help of his allies. According to AFP, opposition parties, which had criticized the speed of the vote, did not want to support the law. Congress passed the “Bitcoin law” with 62 votes out of a total of 84.
El Salvador is a low-income country and uses U.S. dollars as its official currency. Many families rely on money from family members living abroad. The Bitcoin law approved today intends to facilitate these remittances as well. That’s because until now, a large portion of remittances were lost to intermediaries, Bukele recently explained.
The law is expected to be implemented within the next 90 days. The introduction of the digital currency will be handled via the mobile payment app Strike, which was recently launched in El Salvador.
Animal lover, PR & Communications expert, tech enthusiast who loves short and concise sentences.
Stephanie is one of the founders of Blockzeit. She sort of stumbled into the tech scene by working for various tech and IT companies as a PR Consultant some years ago – where she also learnt about blockchain and its incredible potential.
