El Salvador became the first country in the world to use bitcoin as legal tender, after having been adopted as such by the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador in 2021. It has been promoted by Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, who claimed that it would improve the economy by making banking easier for Salvadorans, and that it would encourage foreign investment. In 2022, more Salvadorians had Bitcoin Lightning wallets than bank accounts.[1][2] In 2023, Bukele has credited this change to fueling the increase in tourism to El Salvador by 95%. The adoption has been criticized both internationally and within El Salvador, due to the volatility of Bitcoin, its environmental impact, and lack of transparency regarding the government's fiscal policy.
- ^ Kharpal, MacKenzie Sigalos,Arjun (2022-10-13). "El Salvador's bitcoin experiment: $60 million lost, $375 million spent, little to show so far". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Alvarez, Fernando (April 1, 2022). "ARE CRYPTOCURRENCIES CURRENCIES? BITCOIN AS LEGAL TENDER IN EL SALVADOR" (PDF). NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH.