El Salvador is the first country to legalize Bitcoin payments. As the government plans to bring the new law into effect, it has announced airdropping Bitcoin. The citizens who will register on the government’s Bitcoin wallet will be eligible to receive $30 worth of Bitcoin through an airdrop. It is a move to make people more interested and familiar with the new “government-adopted currency.”
About the plans to move along with Bitcoin legalization, in his address to the nation, President Nayib Bukele said that once the Bitcoin legal tender takes effect in the country from September 7, it will be used as a mainstream currency; however, he noted that the use Bitcoins will be optional.
“The use of bitcoin will be optional, nobody will receive bitcoin if they don’t want it… If someone receives a payment in bitcoin they can choose to automatically receive it in dollars,” said Bukele.
Earlier on June 9, the country’s congress voted in favour of the president’s decision to legalize Bitcoins.
Athena Bitcoin, a firm that specializes in installing Bitcoin ATMs, has said that it is already looking forward to installing 1,500 cryptocurrency ATMs in the country. Crypto ATMs in the country is becoming an increasingly popular method to receive funds from overseas in El Salvador.
In the meanwhile, Bitcoin and other leading currencies have all been green in the early market trades today. Bitcoin is close to a double-figure increase while other cryptocurrencies are following suit.
