Fiji Elects Pro-Bitcoin Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka

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A newly elected pro-Bitcoin prime minister has taken office in the Pacific islands of Fiji. The new chief, Sitiveni Rabuka, took office in Fiji on December 24.

Lord Fusitua, a Tongan nobleman and former member of the Tongan parliament, took to Twitter to share the news from his neighboring country. Fusitua said he explained to Rabuka, step by step, “how Fiji can make Bitcoin legal tender like Tonga, and there could be two legal tender bills for the Pacific in 2023.

A new pro-#Bitcoin Prime Minister in the South Pacific.

The newly elected Prime Minister of Fiji @slrabuka.

Let’s Go 2 for 2 – BTC Legal Tender Bills for the Pacific in 2023

— Lord Fusitua (@LordFusitua) December 29, 2022

Lord Fusitua explained to Cointelegraph in Twitter posts that the new PM is definitely pro-Bitcoin.

He asked to meet with me, which we have done via zooms since last year to walk him through step by step how he could adopt bitcoin as legal tender.

Tonga’s timeline for the introduction of Bitcoin as legal tender is public and could be adopted as early as February 2023. Fiji faces similar economic and development challenges as Tonga due to its location and history. However, with nearly 900,000 people, Fiji’s population is more than nine times that of Tonga.

Bitcoin’s potential to improve financial inclusion in Fiji is particularly significant given the country’s geography and economic situation. Located in the Pacific Ocean, Fiji is made up of over 330 islands. It is classified as a middle-income country but still faces significant development challenges, including high poverty rates, limited access to financial services and energy dependence on fossil fuels.

Location of Fiji and Tonga in the Pacific Ocean. Source: Map

Indeed, the World Bank reports that remittances to Fiji represent more than 11% of its GDP. Additionally, while Fiji’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy reports strong growth in financial inclusion in recent years, only half of the female population has access to a bank account. Bitcoin could serve as a tool to improve remittances and bank the unbanked, like El Salvador.

Additionally, Fiji could experiment with Bitcoin mining across the volcanic islands. Fusitua continued:

Like Tonga how to do nationalized bitcoin mining especially how we were going to do geothermal mining of volcanoes so they could both do the same thing but also use their massive hydro power and other energy stranded renewables they have, which we don’t.

Fiji’s 20-year national development plan calls for all electricity on the islands to be generated from renewable sources by 2030. The country needs an additional 120 MW of renewable energy to meet this target. Bitcoin mining could be the lever that will unlock renewable energy gains.

Fiji’s approach to Bitcoin contrasts with other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, such as Vanuatu, which has taken a more cautious stance towards crypto. Until 2021, the use of cryptocurrencies was prohibited, but the Satoshi Island Crypto Project appeared to be paving the way for the adoption of digital assets.

Related: Volcanoes, Bitcoin and Remittances: A Tongan Lord Considers Financial Security

Overall, the election of a pro-Bitcoin prime minister in Fiji is an ongoing development. It remains to be seen how the support will translate into concrete policy, but Bitcoin’s potential to improve financial inclusion in Fiji is significant.

Long-time Cointelegraph contributor Lord Fusitua explained that Bitcoin could help GDP rebate by undermining reliance on expensive money transfer services such as Western Union; Replace commercial retail banking with BTC custody of citizen finances in their pocket on phone/hardware wallet instead of commercial banking.

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