As the first country in the world, El Salvador prepares for the transition by loading up on another 200 BTC.
A Major Investment
Cryptocurrency lovers around the world that are looking for a new travel destination may have hit the jackpot. As early as next Tuesday, already acknowledging the US dollar as a legal tender, El Salvador will now add bitcoin to the list.
President Nayib Bukele just revealed that the El Salvadorian government has made another major investment as it purchased another 200 bitcoin. Now holding a total of 400 BTC at a value of nearly $21 million. President Bukele says he is far from being done and promises that the government will buy a lot more as the deadline approaches.
Pay Your Taxes Using BTC
When the new law takes effect and bitcoin is accepted as a legal tender, all companies and organizations have to accept bitcoin as a form of payment. This also includes government agencies, meaning even tax payments can be made using the popular cryptocurrency.
Download a Wallet
In order to make the transition easier for its people, the El Salvadorian government has created an app known as the “Chivo Wallet.” As an extra incentive to actually download and use the app, users will be given $30 worth of bitcoin.
President Bukele sent out a tweet saying:
“The process of #Bitcoin in El Salvador has a learning curve. Every step toward the future is like this, and we will not achieve everything in a day, nor in a month. But we must break the paradigms of the past.”
Based on the fact that 70% of the country’s population do not even have an actual bank account, El Salvador teamed up with a digital finance company to make the transition easier as well as helping people to have access to their BTC without the need of a bank account.
The Rise of the Opposition
A major move like this does not come without awakening a strong opposition and two new surveys have unveiled that a vast majority of El Salvadorans are not happy with the president’s latest decision.
Some of the results from the surveys are:
– 7 out of 10 Salvadorians believe National Deputies should take down the Bitcoin Law.
– Only 5.5% of the surveyed people are ‘very interested’ in using the “ Chivo wallet” for the purpose.
– 95.9% of the surveyed participants answered that the use of BTC should be voluntary.
Hoping for New Investments
El Salvador’s government is betting that through the use of bitcoin as legal tender, new investments may be attracted.
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