Bitcoin will become legal tender in El Salvador on Tuesday, Sept. 7. The Salvadoran government has started buying bitcoin ahead of the law taking effect. The first 200 coins have been purchased and “a lot more” are coming, said President Nayib Bukele.
El Salvador Begins Mass Buying Bitcoin Ahead of Bitcoin Becoming Legal Tender
El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, announced Monday: “El Salvador has just bought its first 200 coins. Our brokers will be buying a lot more as the deadline approaches.” At the current BTC price of $51,691, the 200 bitcoins are worth about $10.34 million.
Bukele also tweeted, “Tomorrow, for the first time in history, all the eyes of the world will be on El Salvador.” The country’s Bitcoin Law, passed in June, will enter into force on Tuesday, Sept. 7. It will make bitcoin legal tender in the country alongside the U.S. dollar. The government recently published a video explaining what to expect.
In preparation for bitcoin becoming legal tender, El Salvador’s Congress approved a law on Aug. 31 to create a $150-million fund to facilitate conversions from bitcoin to U.S. dollars. Money for the new fund will be redirected from the finance ministry’s current budget and administered by the state development bank of El Salvador.
Meanwhile, a growing number of bitcoin supporters are planning to buy $30 worth of BTC to show their support for El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law. $30 is also the amount that President Bukele promised to give anyone who uses the government’s bitcoin wallet, Chivo.
Some people are planning to spend more than $30. Tahini’s Restaurant, for example, said that in support of El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law, it will “buy $300 every hour tomorrow.”
According to Bukele, about 200 ATMs and 50 bank branches featuring the government’s Chivo wallet are being installed in different parts of the country where users can deposit and withdraw money without paying commissions.
Not everyone is keen on bitcoin becoming legal tender in El Salvador, however. A recent national survey shows that seven out of 10 Salvadorans want the Bitcoin Law repealed and as many as nine out of 10 respondents do not have a clear understanding of what bitcoin is.
What do you think about El Salvador buying a lot of bitcoin and making the cryptocurrency legal tender? Let us know in the comments section below.
