Bitcoin holds steady as announcements come from El Salvador and Paraguay via Twitter
The president of El Salvador confirmed on Sunday that he will make bitcoin legal tender in the Central American country.
Pending backing by the country’s congress, El Salvador would become the first country in the world to officially adopt the cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin would operate alongside El Salvador’s current currency, the US dollar.
Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, said it would become easier for Salvadorians living in other nations to send money back home.
“In the short term, this will generate jobs and help provide financial inclusion to thousands outside the formal economy,” Bukele said at the Bitcoin Conference 2021 in Miami.
If it passes through congress, financial services would be opened up to 70% of El Salvador’s people who do not currently own bank accounts, according to the president.
The country’s economy relies largely on money being sent from abroad, totalling 20% of El Salvador’s GDP.
A mobile payments app by the name of Strike is working to introduce bitcoin to El Salvador.
“Adopting a natively digital currency as legal tender provides El Salvador the most secure, efficient and globally integrated open payments network in the world,” Strike founder Jack Mallers said.
“This is the shot heard ’round the world for bitcoin. Adopting a natively digital currency as legal tender provides El Salvador the most secure, efficient and globally integrated open payments network in the world,” Mallers added.
Paraguay
Heading further south, further crypto news is emerging, this time in Paraguay.
Again taking to Twitter, Paraguayan MP Carlos “Carlitos” Rejala hinted at a PayPal/bitcoin related announcement.
Translated into English, Rejala said: “I’ve been saying this for a long time: Our country needs to move hand in hand with the new generation. The moment has come, our moment. This week we will start on an important project that will help innovate Paraguay for the whole world to see.”
Despite the news coming out over the weekend the market is largely flat on Monday. Over the past 24 hours, bitcoin is up by 0.82% to $36,363.