Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele wants to bring a bill to parliament that would make Bitcoin legal tender in the Central American state. It promises a greater influx of foreign investment into the country.
If lawmakers approve Bukele’s proposal, El Salvador will be the first country in the world where Bitcoin will become official currency. But this does not mean that it will replace the current official currency, which is the US dollar in El Salvador, but that it will work alongside it.
Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele wants to make it easier for his citizens to live abroad and send home remedies, just as he hopes for an influx of foreign investment. “This will help generate new jobs and ensure the financial inclusion of thousands of people who live outside the formal economy,” Bukele said at a Bitcoin conference in Florida.
It is on remistents that El Salvador’s economy is heavily dependent. They account for about 20 percent of GDP. According to Bukele, his proposal would also make financial services available to up to 70 percent of Salvadoran citizens who have no bank account. El Salvador’s president also mentioned that Bitcoin’s market capitalization is about $680 billion. “If only 1% went to El Salvador, it would increase its GDP by a quarter,” Bukele tweeted.
