On Tuesday, Bitcoin officially became a legal tender in El Salvador, a country in South America. The local government announced this decision a few months ago, and it was met with a significant portion of criticism even from the International Monetary Fund.
Nevertheless, the President of El Salvador Nayyib Bukele achieved his goal, and now in many retail outlets in the country you can conveniently spend your crypto savings. According to experts, other countries are expected to do the same.
Recall that the bill on the recognition of Bitcoin as an official means of payment in El Salvador was approved in the first half of June 2021. Then 62 out of 84 members of the local Congress voted for him. This means that the idea of introducing BTC into the national economy was supported by the super-majority of the government.
However, Bitcoin began to operate in the country on September 7th, that is, this Tuesday. Now you can pay with cryptocurrencies for orders in the most popular establishments like McDonald’s or Starbucks.
Against the backdrop of what is happening, a local crypto wallet called Chivo was in first place in the ranking of financial applications in the App Store. This was announced by President of El Salvador Nayyib Bukele on Twitter.
The press secretary of the presidential administration of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov, in response to what is happening, noted that Russia is definitely not ready for such steps. However, experts believe that over time, more and more states will join the trend of supporting cryptocurrencies in general and Bitcoin in particular.
Where is Bitcoin accepted?
The founder of the Cardano project, Charles Hoskinson, sees the event as positive not only for El Salvador, but for the whole world. Hoskinson released a new video on his YouTube channel, in which he congratulated the Salvadorans on their success and said that other states would soon follow the path of the Latin American country.
Hoskinson is confident that Bitcoin is the future of the global financial system and the events in El Salvador were the first trigger for its mass adoption. Here is his line, quoted by Cointelegraph .
Most people under the age of 25 have a positive attitude towards cryptocurrencies, many of them own crypto. This is the future. Their children will grow up convinced that cryptocurrencies are the backbone of finance.
We agree with this assumption. Yet digital assets are now a relatively new phenomenon, which many are viewed with distrust due to the statements of various officials and bankers. However, over time, the reputation of cryptocurrencies will improve – especially given the current scale of adoption of BTC.
Here is Hoskinson’s complete video in English. We recommend that you familiarize yourself if you want to better understand what is happening in the blockchain world.
Over the years, more and more world governments will appreciate the development of the digital asset industry and will make it legal in their jurisdictions, the developer said.
In the coming years, many countries will use crypto as part of their monetary policy – either as reserves for central banks or as day-to-day banking transactions. There may be a Salvadoran scenario, when the crypt becomes the national currency.
Chivo Wallet App Store Rating
Most likely, while many countries will be limited only to the acquisition of cryptocurrencies as investments. By the way, El Salvador also purchased 200 bitcoins and plans to increase this amount.
Check for payment of the order with bitcoins at McDonald’s in El Salvador
Hoskinson’s point of view was echoed on Twitter by Edward Snowden, a prominent opposition figure in the American government. He stated that the adoption of Bitcoin in some regions of the world will put pressure on all countries, which means they will simply be forced to recognize the main cryptocurrency as a legal medium of exchange on their territory.
Edward Snowden
We believe the coming months will show the results of the El Salvadorian government’s decision. If the use of Bitcoin is beneficial to local businesses and tax authorities, it will make other states think about the prospects for BTC on a national scale. Eventually, Bitcoin adoption could become a worldwide trend. And given the limited maximum supply of cryptocurrency, this will surely have a good effect on the value of the asset – as well as on the overall reputation of the coins in the world.
