Since El Salvador decided to make Bitcoin legal tender in the country on 7 September, rumours have been circulating as to which country might be the next to legalize Bitcoin, and Honduras is among the most likely.
Will Honduras legalize Bitcoin?
According to experts, Honduras and Guatemala were already considered the most likely countries to take such a step.
Now, for some days, rumours have been intensifying that Honduras is close to making such a decision.
The rumours have been officially denied by a statement of the Central Bank of the country, which would have denied a short-term hypothesis of legalization of Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency.
In a note, the Bank also reiterated that the circulation of cryptocurrencies in the country is unregulated and therefore invalid for any kind of transaction.
“BCH does not supervise or guarantee operations carried out with cryptocurrencies as means of payment,” it said in a statement. “Any transaction carried out with these types of virtual assets is the responsibility and risk of those who do it”.
Tests continue to implement a CBDC
At the same time, the Central Bank itself has admitted that tests are continuing on the possibility of creating a CBDC.
Hence the speculation that the country might actually legalize Bitcoin within the year, perhaps after analyzing the results recorded in neighbouring El Salvador.
According to experts, this hypothesis has been under consideration by the local government for some time, to analyze the possibility that a legalization of Bitcoin could free the country from its strict dependence on the American dollar.
Will El Salvador not be the only country to break its dependence on the US dollar?
“We must not allow El Salvador to be the only country to escape the hegemony of the dollar. Honduras has the right to move towards the countries of the First World”,
Xiomara Castro, president of Honduras, told DigitNews newspaper recently.
This statement clearly triggered speculation about the possibility of Bitcoin becoming legal in the country, despite the Central Bank’s flat denial, which came a few days after the president’s words.
In the meantime, Paraguay and Panama are also reportedly thinking of implementing Bitcoin as a currency for certain transactions in the country.
While on the other side of the world, Malaysia is preparing to do the same.
Perhaps these new laws are a precursor to the future legalization of Bitcoin in various countries.
Caption: Honduras among the countries most likely to legalize Bitcoin in the near future
Source: https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2022/03/25/honduras-ready-to-legalize-bitcoin-or-just-rumours/