El Salvador adopts Bitcoin as a legal currency

By Pavithra R

El Salvador has become the first country to adopt Bitcoin as official legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar. The move intends to help unleash the power and potential of Bitcoin for everyday use cases on an open network that benefits individuals, businesses, and public sector services.

President Nayib Bukele announced El Salvador’s intention to make bitcoin legal tender in a video broadcast to Bitcoin 2021. The Legislative Assembly of El Salvador voted to pass the bill that declared Bitcoin as legal tender. With 62 out of 84 votes, the legislative plenary session approved the move with which El Salvador adopts Bitcoin as a legal currency. The country has assembled Bitcoin leaders across the world to help build a new financial ecosystem with Bitcoin as the base layer.

Strike, a leading digital wallet built on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, welcomed the legislation. Strike founder and CEO Jack Mallers has been providing market insights to help make El Salvador’s effort successful and build the country’s modern financial infrastructure using Bitcoin technology. The technology delivers powerful advantages over legacy financial rails and incumbent payment systems.

“This is a historic moment. The code (Bitcoin) Satoshi wrote is now a legal tender of a country. Bitcoin is the soundest asset and one of the biggest technological innovations the world has ever seen. We are looking forward to how El Salvador incorporates Bitcoin into its economy,” said Avinash Shekhar, Co-CEO, ZebPay.

Making bitcoin legal tender is a leapfrog moment that can help countries like El Salvador shift from a cash economy to an innovative, inclusive, and transparent digital economy. That is especially meaningful in El Salvador, where about 70% of people do not have bank accounts or credit cards. Additionally, remittances account for more than 20% of El Salvador’s GDP, and incumbent services can charge 10% or more in fees for international transfers that take days to arrive and must be collected from a physical location.

“EI Salvador’s decision to make bitcoin a legal tender will boost financial inclusion in their country as the majority of the population does not have access to formal banking channels. In India, our approach towards crypto is different, we don’t see it as a legal tender but as an asset class. Indian investors have shown their faith in crypto even during the massive price fluctuations because they have an investment horizon of 2-3 years. We are eagerly waiting for CBDC in India which will open up new avenues of growth for the digital asset industry,” said Shivam Thakral, CEO of, BuyUcoin.