One Year On! El Salvador Marks Bitcoin Legal Tender Anniversary

Today makes it a year since El Salvador publicly revealed plans to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. On June 06, 2021, the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, announced that a Bitcoin bill would be submitted to make BTC an official currency in the country. 

A few days later, Bukele announced that the bill has been approved by the Salvadoran congress, and in September 2021, El Salvador officially became the first country in the world to legalize bitcoin as legal tender. 

One Year On! How Did It Go?

Being the first country to make such a move, El Salvador’s decision to adopt bitcoin as an official currency was not totally met with open hands. 

U.S. lawmakers, for instance, warned against the move and proposed two bills aimed at minimizing the alleged risks of El Salvador bitcoin adoption. 

However, the criticisms have had no effect on president Bukele’s stance on Bitcoin as the cryptocurrency continues to act as a national currency. In fact, El Salvador has gone beyond just legalizing BTC. The country is making plans to build a Bitcoin City. 

Additionally, El Salvador is accumulating BTC at every chance it gets. The country currently holds a total of 2,301 bitcoins (worth about $69 million at current prices) following its last purchase of 500 BTC in March 2022.

Meanwhile, President Bukele believes bitcoin has the potential to reach the price mark of $100K per BTC.

Central African Republic (CAR) Joins El Salvador

Earlier this year, the Central African Republic (CAR) became the second country in the world and the first in Africa to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. 

The bill to make Bitcoin legal in CAR was signed by the country’s president, Faustin Archange Touadera, in April.