El Salvador created history after making Bitcoin ($BTC) a legal tender in the country along with the US Dollar. More importantly, it created a domino effect among other small financially challenged nations to look at Bitcoin as a viable alternative to avoid growing inflation and financial crisis. A small island nation Tonga, a Polynesian country hopes to follow on El Salvador’s lead to make Bitcoin a legal tender as well.
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Tongan politician Lord Fusitu’ believes the island nation is one of the largest remittance-dependent countries in the world, thus the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender can offset high remittance charges of upto 30% charged by money transfer services such as Western Union. He explained
“Tonga is the highest remittance-dependent country on earth. Between 38% and 41.1% of our GDP, depending on which World Bank figures you use, is remittances. To get those remittances to Tonga, Western Union takes a 30% bite out of them, on average. It can be 50%. In El Salvador, it’s closer to 50%.”
Fusitu’ believes Bitcoin has a place in the Tongan financial ecosystem and believes it could very well function with ease using digital wallets such as Strike. He also said that Bitcoin payment apps could easily see great adoption among the masses as they would not require a parliamentary order to implement.
“Bitcoin is the first truly global natively open monetary system. Blockchain is the most optimal storage medium for money if your goal is decentralization and complete, egalitarian democratization of money.”
El Salvador Bitcoin Adoption Reaches 50%
El Salvador’s Bitcoin adoption is breaking new records every day as the number of citizens using Bitcoin wallet Chivo reached over 3 million downloads.
3 million salvadorans are already using @chivowallet.#Bitcoin🌋🇸🇻
— Nayib Bukele 🇸🇻 (@nayibbukele) October 3, 2021
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele took to Twitter to reveal the fast-growing adoption. The President also revealed the country has mined its first Bitcoin using the country’s volcanic energy. As the production facilities for clean Bitcoin mining increase, it could also attract miners to the country.
