Bill by which the bitcoin becomes legal currency in El Salvador passed the country’s Congress, as announced by President Najib Boukele.
El Salvador thus becomes the first country to adopt a cryptocurrency.
“The #Bitcoin bill has just been approved by a majority in the legislature. History!” Bukele wrote on Twitter late last night after the vote.
The president said the bill, which he had tabled last week, was approved by 62 of the 84 lawmakers.
It was voted in favor of Boukele’s allies despite minor opposition parties criticizing the vote and refusing to support it.
According to AMPE, before the vote, Boukele stated that the adoption of cryptocurrency will bring to the country “financial integration, investment, tourism, innovation and economic growth”.
The leader of El Salvador described bitcoin as “the fastest growing way to transfer” billions of dollars in remittances and a way to avoid millions being lost to intermediaries.
Remittances from Salvadorians working abroad account for a large part of the economy, accounting for almost 22% of GDP.
In 2020, remittances to the country amounted to $ 5.9 billion, according to official figures.
“This is a law that will put El Salvador at the center of the world, we will become more attractive for foreign investment,” said Romeo Auerbach, a member of parliament from the Grand Alliance for National Unity, an ally of Boukele.
By mid-May 2020, the cryptocurrency market had grown to more than $ 2.5 trillion, according to Coinmarketcap, driven by serious investors from Wall Street to Silicon Valley.
But the volatility of bitcoin – which currently stands at $ 33,814 – and its vague legal status raise questions about whether it will ever be able to replace the traditional currency in day-to-day trading.
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