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Tuesday, April 30, 2024

In world first, bitcoin becomes legal tender in El Salvador

A recent opinion poll found that 70 percent of Salvadorans opposed the adoption of bitcoin as legal tender, and hundreds protested against it on Sept 1, 2021.

SAN SALVADOR: El Salvador on Tuesday becomes the first country in the world to accept bitcoin as legal tender, despite widespread domestic skepticism and international warnings of risks for consumers.

President Nayib Bukele’s government claims the move will give many Salvadorans access to bank services for the first time and save some $400 million in fees on remittances sent home from abroad every year.

“Tomorrow, for the first time in history, all the eyes of the world will be on El Salvador. #Bitcoin did this,” Bukele said on Twitter Monday.

He started the ball rolling Monday evening by announcing El Salvador had bought its first 400 bitcoins, in…

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