Groundbreaking Bill Giving Bitcoin Legal Tender Status Officially Passed In El Salvador

With 62 votes a few hours ago, the Salvadoran Congress has approved the bill introduced by president Nayib Bukele to adopt bitcoin as the country’s legal tender.

As ZyCrypto reported earlier, Bukele announced during the Bitcoin 2021 Miami Conference that he was considering sending a bill to Congress to make the world’s oldest cryptocurrency the country’s legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar after striking a partnership with payments firm Strike. At around 8 pm on Tuesday, Bukele announced on Twitter that he had presented the “Bitcoin Law” to the El Salvadoran legislature, attaching copies of the bill in English and Spanish.

Hours later, the bill was passed in Congress with a supermajority of the country’s Congress voting in favor of the Bitcoin Law. In particular, 62 members of the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador voted in favor of the bill, while 19 opposed and 3 were absent.

Bukele revealed that he will sign the bill later tonight or tomorrow morning. With the bill officially passed, El Salvador is now the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as a legal tender in its financial system. Bukele and other government officials will be holding a meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday to discuss how to implement the plan.

Key Details Of The Newly-Approved Bitcoin Bill In El Salvador

Notably, the bill authorizes all economic agents in El Salvador to accept bitcoin as a means of payment. “They have to take it by law. If you go to Mexico, they have to take your pesos. In the case of El Salvador bitcoin is going to be legal tender just as the US dollar,” Bukule said. However, the government will convert it to the dollar immediately to offset the wild volatility of cryptocurrencies.

The government also intends to form a trust at the Development Bank of El Salvador which will hold $150 million equivalent of bitcoin to assume merchants’ risk. The government will also be unveiling a bitcoin wallet for El Salvadorans although it does not have present plans to add bitcoin to its reserves.

Also, interestingly, the law contains a provision that will give immigrants permanent residency in El Salvador for the price of 3 BTC.

It’s worth noting that El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin is expected to significantly boost the country’s economy but it’s not a step towards de-dollarization. El Salvador sees other sovereign nations following in its footsteps and adopting the flagship cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, El Salvador will provide the necessary “training and mechanisms” to help crypto noobies in the country conduct bitcoin transactions.