Despite the gloomy price of digital assets, their adoption is moving forward in leaps and bounds. This week Panama, Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil have all expressed their desire to integrate cryptocurrencies into their countries’ economies. These statements come on the heels of a stunning announcement by Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, who intends to make Bitcoin a legal currency in his country.
Bitcoin, finally a legal currency
The Legislative Assembly of El Salvador approved, on the night of June 8, the law on Bitcoin presented by the country’s president. With 62 votes out of 84, the new legislation was approved with an overwhelming majority, although this will come as little surprise, since Congress is overwhelmingly controlled by the president’s party. The law must now be ratified by Nayib Bukele.
Among the items in the so-called “Bitcoin Act” are the ability to use Bitcoin to pay taxes, the exemption of capital gains tax in BTC and the use of the US dollar as a “reference currency” for pricing. In addition, the bill states that “any economic agent must accept Bitcoin as payment when offered by the person acquiring a good or service. ”
The new law also states that prices may be expressed in bitcoin, and that this cryptocurrency must be accepted throughout the national territory, with exceptions for remote areas where the necessary technical infrastructure is not yet accessible, but also for citizens who would not have access to the necessary means to perform these electronic transactions.
The law will come into effect 90 days after its promulgation by President Nayib Bukele. However, all businesses operating in El Salvador will have to adapt and implement technical devices to accept this new payment method. With this vote, El Salvador enters the history of the economy and will irrevocably mark the history of Bitcoin.
