BitMEX CEO predicts Bitcoin will be legal tender in five countries by 2022

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Countries in the developing world will soon follow suit in El Salvador and make Bitcoin (BTC) a legal offer, BitMEX CEO Alexander Hptner recently predicted.

In a blog post published Wednesday, Hptner expressed support for El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender in September, predicting that developing countries would lead the way in adopting Bitcoin:

My prediction is that by the end of next year at least five countries will accept Bitcoin as legal tender. All will be developing countries.

Hptner told Cointelegraph that countries like Brazil and the Philippines could be among the next jurisdictions to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. “I think it will be like a fall in the dominoes, especially when it seems likely that a powerful emerging economy like Brazil is about to budge. With elections scheduled in places like Lebanon, Kenya and the United States. Philippines next year, watch the campaign also pledges to make Bitcoin legal tender, ”he said.

According to Hptner, developing countries will adopt Bitcoin faster due to three important factors: the growing need for cheaper and faster international transfers, massive inflation and political problems.

Unlike consumers in more developed countries, people in developing economies are more affected by cross-border payments and inflation issues, Hptner said.

The CEO noted that remittances accounted for 23% of El Salvador’s gross domestic product in 2020, while the World Bank estimated that low- and middle-income countries receive around 75% of total global remittances. He added that people around the world are increasingly seeing Bitcoin as a solution to deal with massive inflation, citing the rapid adoption of crypto in Turkey amid a 19.2% inflation rate. .

Hptner went on to say that El Salvador’s Bitcoin movement will make it easier for other countries to consider similar activities. But while it is true that politics will play an important role in the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender, it is also true that any failure of these leaders in the implementation phase can hamper the wider adoption of crypto. -currencies in general, he added.

Former CEO of German stock exchange Boerse Stuttgart, Hptner took over as CEO of BitMEX in December 2020, replacing Arthur Hayes.

Hptner isn’t alone in believing that more countries will follow El Salvador’s lead by embracing Bitcoin. Last month, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson predicted that many more countries would embrace cryptocurrencies. World-renowned computer programmer Edward Snowden also believes latecomers may regret hesitating.

Related: 70% of Salvadorans Oppose Bitcoin Law As September 7 Implementation Approaches

Some major figures in the cryptocurrency space have hesitated to praise the adoption of crypto in El Salvador sparked by President Nayib Bukele. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buter criticized Bukeles’ approach to adopting Bitcoin on Friday, arguing that forcing companies to accept a specific cryptocurrency is contrary to the ideals of freedom that are said to be so important to the space. crypto.

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