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SAN SALVADOR, June 24 (Reuters) – Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said in a national speech Thursday that a recently passed law making bitcoin legal tender would come into effect on September 7, noting that its use will be optional.
El Salvador’s Congress approved Bukele’s proposal to adopt cryptocurrency on June 9, making El Salvador the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. Read more
“The use of bitcoin will be optional, no one will receive bitcoin if they don’t want it … If someone receives a payment in bitcoin, they can choose to automatically receive it in dollars,” said Bukele.
Salaries and pensions will continue to be paid in US dollars, Bukele said, without specifying whether this included salaries paid to civil servants and private sector employees.
Earlier today, Athena Bitcoin announced plans to invest more than $ 1 million to set up some 1,500 cryptocurrency ATMs in El Salvador, particularly where residents receive remittances from the foreign. Read more
According to Athena Bitcoin’s website, ATMs can be used to buy bitcoin or sell it for cash.
Report by Nelson Renteria in San Salvador; Writing by Anthony Esposito; Edited by Christian Schmollinger
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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