El Salvador has become the 1st country in the world to formally adopt Bitcoin. This was announced following President Nayib Bukele’s landmark proposal being approved by Congress.
Nayib Bukele is Latin America’s youngest president and is known to often break the norms. Reportedly, the lawmakers of El Salvador approved the legislation by a “supermajority.” President Bukele has previously stated that Bitcoin could boost their economy. This would help them counter the current low banking penetration rate of the country. The 39-year old believed that Bitcoin could facilitate faster transfers for billions of dollars a year.
Bitcoin has been through a dramatic rout lately. The high-stakes plan to elevate usage of the volatile cryptocurrency is certainly bullish. According to El Salvador’s central bank President Douglas Rodriguez, Bitcoin is already used in the country, and “it’s not something people need to be afraid of,” while adding it won’t replace the U.S. dollar.
Bitcoin has fallen from an all-time-high of almost $65,000 to around $35,000. Tesla CEO and billionaire Elon Musk has played a big role in this following his criticism of the amount of environmental damage caused by the servers mining it. China’s harsh regulations have also hit the currency for the worse. But believers of the currency feel these are temporary setbacks and that its role will expand over time.
