El Salvador caused a sensation during the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami on Saturday afternoon.
The countryâs president is poised to introduce a bill that will make it the worldâs first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender alongside the United States dollar. This will help El Salvador unlock the endless benefits of bitcoin as an open network for the countryâs public sector, its citizens, as well as businesses on an everyday basis.
âThe Shot Heard âRound The World For Bitcoinâ
President Nayib Bukele announced a collaborative partnership with Bitcoinâs Lightning Network-powered Venmo, Strike, while speaking during the Bitcoin 2021 conference. Bukele and Strike are working on a plan to use bitcoin technology to build the countryâs innovative financial infrastructure.
âThis is the shot heard âround the world for bitcoinâ, Jack Mallers, the founder and CEO of Strike said, adding:
âWhatâs transformative here is that bitcoin is both the greatest reserve asset ever created and a superior monetary network. Holding bitcoin provides a way to protect developing economies from potential shocks of fiat currency inflation.â
In addition to helping El Salvador shift from a largely cash economy, adopting bitcoin as a legal tender will also give the country the most secure and globally integrated open-source payment system in the world. Moreover, the president asserted that this plan will benefit the thousands of unbanked Salvadorians as well as generate more jobs in the country.
Bukele will be submitting the bill next week for review by the countryâs legislative assembly. With Bukeleâs populist upstart political party having the upper hand in Congress, approval seems highly likely. The new legislation will undeniably make El Salvador âthe first bitcoin countryâ, as pointed out by Mallers.
El Salvador Has Assembled A Team Of Bitcoin Experts For The Rollout
El Salvador has reportedly already created a team of bitcoin leaders across the globe to assist in developing a new financial system with bitcoin as the base layer.
Blockstream CEO Adam Back, for instance, will contribute Liquid and satellite technologies to help El Salvador in its bid to adopt the bitcoin standard. Blockstream will also support the development of the BTC mining industry in the Central American nation by using their extensive expertise in mining and energy management. âIt was an inevitability, but here already: the first country on track to make bitcoin legal tender,â Back opined.
After the announcement was made, the conference attendees burst with excitement. The news also started trending on Twitter and other social media platforms.
âToday, the country of El Salvador has taken one small step for bitcoin, but a giant step forward for humanity,â bitcoin bull and Morgan Creekâs Anthony Pompliano tweeted.
El Salvador is the first country to make such a brave move, but itâs certainly not going to be the last.
