President Nayib Bukele called the moment historical in a tweet, where he also used the hashtag #BitcoinDay (perhaps there will be a national holiday in the future?). Salvadorans can now use bitcoin to make cash payments anywhere in the country. Businesses that have the technology to accept bitcoin payments must do so. Bukele also tweeted that El Salvador had recently purchased 200 bitcoins, bringing its total to 400.
What country has become the first to legally accept bitcoin?
Answer: El Salvador.
El Salvador recently became the first country in the world to accept bitcoin as legal tender. The legislation allowing it was passed back in July and took effect Tuesday, Sept. 7.
President Nayib Bukele called the moment historical in a tweet, where he also used the hashtag #BitcoinDay (perhaps there will be a national holiday in the future?). Salvadorans can now use bitcoin to make cash payments anywhere in the country. Businesses that have the technology to accept bitcoin payments must do so. Bukele also tweeted that El Salvador had recently purchased 200 bitcoins, bringing its total to 400.
There are some potential downsides to making bitcoin a legal tender, most notably its volatility. As anyone who remembers the massive bitcoin bubble of 2017 can tell you, the cryptocurrency’s price can be anything but predictable. In the 48 hours before El Salvador’s legislation took effect, bitcoin’s price went from $50,600 to $52,900 per coin, then back to $50,800.
President Nayib Bukele called the moment historical in a tweet, where he also used the hashtag #BitcoinDay (perhaps there will be a national holiday in the future?). Salvadorans can now use bitcoin to make cash payments anywhere in the country. Businesses that have the technology to accept bitcoin payments must do so. Bukele also tweeted that El Salvador had recently purchased 200 bitcoins, bringing its total to 400.
