El Salvador plans to become first country to make Bitcoin legal tender
The bold step would make the Central American country the first in the world to formally adopt the digital currency.
El Salvador's young, media-savvy and highly popular President Nayib Bukele says he plans on making the Bitcoin crypto-currency a legal tender in the country, the BBC reports.
The bold step would make the Central American country the first in the world to formally adopt the digital currency.
According to the BBC report, Bitcoin would be used alongside the US dollar, which is El Salvador's official currency.
"In the short term, this will generate jobs and help provide financial inclusion to thousands outside the formal economy," Bukele told a Bitcoin conference in Florida, adding that it could also boost investment to the country, the BBC reports.
Bukele believes that Bitcoin would make it easier for Salvadorans living abroad to send remittance.
These remittance-senders, on whom Salvador's economy heavily relies, makeup around 20% of the country's gross domestic product.
The BBC report says that more than two million Salvadorans live outside the country, sending back more than $4bn (£2.9bn) each year.
If the plan is backed by congress, the move would come as a boon for 70% of Salvadorans who do not have a bank account, the president said.
The current services can charge fees for such transfers, take days to arrive and sometimes need to be picked up in person, according to the announcement.
"This will improve lives and the future of millions," Bukele said, without providing further details.
Bitcoin, a virtual asset with no direct connection to the real economy, has seen large fluctuations in value over the years.
Central banks around the world have also mulled forming their own digital currency.