El Salvador passes bill recognizing Bitcoin as legal tender

The Legislative Assembly of El Salvador approved a bill recognizing Bitcoin as an official means of payment in the country, on par with the US dollar.

Con 62 votos, el pleno legislativo aprueba la #LeyBitcoin con la que El Salvador adopta el #Bitcoin como moneda de circulación legal.

¡#LaNuevaAsamblea sigue haciendo historia! pic.twitter.com/Ur9OQzPvYI

— Asamblea Legislativa (@AsambleaSV) June 9, 2021

The bill was backed by 62 of 84 lawmakers, 17 opposed, one abstained. It will take effect 90 days after publication in the Official Government Gazette.

On June 6, President Nayib Bukele announced plans to legalize Bitcoin in the country. On June 9, he published the full version of the document, which provides for the use of digital gold to set prices and collect taxes.

I’ve just sent the #BitcoinLaw to Congress 🇸🇻 pic.twitter.com/DljnxsXlyt

— Nayib Bukele 🇸🇻 (@nayibbukele) June 9, 2021

‘Any economic agent must accept Bitcoin as a means of payment when it is offered as payment for goods and services,’ the document states.

Transactions involving digital gold are not subject to capital gains tax, just as with other payments.

El Salvador guarantees instantaneous automatic conversion of Bitcoin into the US dollar, which will remain the base currency of the state. To this end, authorities will launch a $150 million trust fund to purchase the digital asset from the population. The government is also considering holding Bitcoin on the balance sheet.

The President of El Salvador just confirmed that they will hold $150 million in a trust fund through their development bank.

That will be used to purchase bitcoin from citizens over time.

They are not ruling out the idea of holding bitcoin in their reserves in the near future.

— Pomp 🌪 (@APompliano) June 9, 2021

Local communities have already built a Bitcoin economy.

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