El Salvador recognised Bitcoin as official tender almost two months ago. Since then, the country’s president has not only had time to show off a geothermal source for mining the cryptocurrency using volcanic energy, but has also invested some budget money into the coins. The country now has 1,120 bitcoins in reserves.

The country’s authorities have used various marketing moves to promote the cryptocurrency. In particular, when using the coins to pay for gasoline, the country’s citizens could get a certain discount.

El Salvador’s President Nayib Buquele

And while the Mexican leadership has no plans to do something similar, Bitcoin may be legalised on another continent. Here are the details of the situation.

Where is the cryptocurrency legal?

According to Cointelegraph, the news was announced by retired Brigadier Colonel Charles Vekwete, who is also the permanent secretary and head of the presidential office and e-government technology unit in the cabinet.

He confirmed the previous day that talks with local companies regarding the legalisation of digital assets were already underway. Vekwete said the disadvantages of the decentralised cryptocurrency ecosystem still include unregistered cross-border transfers, withdrawal of money from the country and crime financing.

Note that criticism of cryptocurrencies in the context of crime financing and tax evasion has been heard for years. In fact, some large countries, such as the US, have very strict controls on profits from cryptocurrency investments, so this argument is basically irrelevant there. We believe that such "scare stories" were originally created at the behest of bankers who did not want to lose part of their profits because of decentralized assets. Yet they allow any payment to be made - including to residents of other countries - without serious commissions or anyone's permission. And banks do charge hefty fees for such transfers.

Bitcoin in Zimbabwe

He also said the authorities were trying to develop rules to protect consumers and promote the country’s financial prosperity. As a result, before introducing any major policy change, the government is asking for input from various sectors of the economy and industries.

The bull run is unstoppable

So far, the Zimbabwean leadership has not yet made any major announcements, and the country itself is in the process of considering the potential of cryptocurrencies. However, the state already has a programme in place to embrace the digital economy. It is justified – there are a lot of consumers on the African continent who remain outside the service of banks and financial companies. The adoption of cryptocurrencies could improve their well-being and create an additional source of revenue for the Zimbabwean budget.


Note that El Salvador has actually managed to profit from its investment in cryptocurrency. The country has made enough money to, among other things, divert some of the money to build twenty schools, which will be modern and fully staffed. Read more about this in a separate article.


Bitcoin as savings


We believe the decision to approve Bitcoin as official tender and start investing money in it could be beneficial. Despite various warnings from the world's financial institutions, investing in BTC brings good returns - and there's no denying that. Therefore, the idea of introducing crypto to the local population could clearly have some good consequences. At least for some of the citizens.


What do you think about it? Share your opinion in our millionaires’ cryptochat. There we will talk about other topics that affect what is happening in the world of blockchain and decentralisation.