[ad_1]
Top line
Every adult citizen of El Salvador will receive $ 30 worth of bitcoin when they download and register the government’s cryptocurrency app, President Nayib Bukele announced Thursday as he unveiled details of how the country would become the first to make bitcoin legal tender.
Bitcoin will soon be legal tender in El Salvador
AFP via Getty Images Highlights
In a nationwide address Thursday, Bukele revealed that the bitcoin law will come into effect on September 7.
The president responded to widespread concerns that the use of bitcoin could become mandatory in El Salvador, which will continue to use the U.S. dollar as legal tender, reassuring citizens that the use of bitcoin will be optional, Reuters reported.
Salaries and pensions will continue to be paid in dollars, he said, and anyone paid in bitcoin can choose to automatically receive them in dollars.
Bukele said the adoption of bitcoin as legal tender would not be the same as when El Salvador adopted the dollar and bank accounts converted the settler’s old currency to dollars.
Bukele reiterated that one of the main drivers of the law is helping people send money to El Salvador, as payments typically suffer from high transaction and commission costs.
Key context
The US dollar has been the official currency in El Salvador since 2001, which bitcoin will join, not replace, as legal tender. The decision to adopt cryptocurrency as legal tender a world first has sparked both apprehension and excitement around the world. For enthusiasts, it was a sign of things to come, and many lawmakers around the world have expressed support for promoting the widespread use of digital currencies. Skeptics, meanwhile, voiced concerns about transparency, the environmental impact of bitcoin and the practicalities of its implementation on the ground. El Salvador’s ambitious three-month schedule to implement the law, which Bukeles said is unchanged, was compromised in mid-June when the World Bank rejected the country’s request for help. to implement crypto as legal tender, citing environmental risks and financial crime. .
More visualization
Bukeles’ presentation, in Spanish, was broadcast:
Further reading
El Salvador makes history as the first country in the world to make bitcoin legal (Forbes)
Tanzania considers crypto, boosts Bitcoin as nations line up behind El Salvador to embrace decentralized finance (Forbes)
El Salvador will give each citizen $ 30 in Bitcoin for downloading the Govt Crypto application (Gizmodo)
[ad_2]
picture credit