Things are moving fast in El Salvador. Since president Nayib Bukele announced a proposal to make Bitcoin legal tender in the country, the whole world seems to be watching. Both investors and crypto business owners are exploring their options in El Salvador and the president’s Twitter profile pic shows laser eyes.
In the video shown at the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami, Bukele said, “In the short term, this will generate jobs and help provide financial inclusion to thousands outside the formal economy, and in the medium and long term, we hope that this small decision can help us push humanity at least a tiny bit into the right direction.” And that direction is the separation of money and state.
Related Reading | El Salvador Set to Accept Bitcoin as Legal Tender
One of the tenets of the Bitcoin community, the hope that hyperbitcoinization will bring a world in which the state will no longer be in charge of the money supply. They’ve abused their power enough. They’ve stolen the wealth of the individuals through inflation ten times too many. And who’s going to be in charge? Every one of us and nobody at the same time. Just like Bitcoin is everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
The world has not seen hard money since WW1. And, for the first time in history, humanity’s got sound money supported by a technology that’s not controlled by anyone in particular. This is a tremendous opportunity to achieve the unthinkable. Will it happen, though? The story is still unfolding, chips are still falling. But if the proposal passes and Bitcoin becomes legal tender in El Salvador, the experiment will have its first use case.
The #Bitcoin Bill proposal that we’ll send to Congress is almost ready.
Simple – Short – Sweet
— Nayib Bukele
(@nayibbukele) June 8, 2021
What exactly is happening around El Salvador since the announcement?
Answering Tron’s Justin Sun tweet about crypto people moving to El Salvador, president Bukele posed a hard to refuse deal. His country offers:
Great weather, world class surfing beaches, beach front properties for sale.
One of the few countries in the world with no property tax.
No capital gains tax for #Bitcoin, since it will be a legal currency.
Immediate permanent residence for crypto entrepreneurs.
Binance’s CZ was one of the many prominent figures in the crypto world that answered the call:
Enticing.
pic.twitter.com/c7mvu07v7R
— CZ
Binance (@cz_binance) June 7, 2021
And hours later, Tron announced that the company is opening an office in El Salvador.
El Salvador is crypto nation now! #TRON will become the first crypto organization to establish an office in El Salvador! #Bitcoin #TRX
— Justin Sun 🅣
(@justinsuntron) June 7, 2021
And one of the premier Bitcoin thought leaders and author of “The Price of Tomorrow”, Jeff Both, is considering the implications.
Remember: There was a time that Europe also discounted the New World too. Individual rights and freedoms around hard money (in the constitution) were set which attracted the best entrepreneurs willing to move to create a better future for themselves and their families.
— Jeff Booth (@JeffBooth) June 7, 2021
When asked about the high crimes and murder rates in El Salvador, Booth explained one of the biggest positive changes this move might bring. “You have it backwards! Just like most people do. When money is broken, crime explodes because people will do anything to pay bills and save their family. Bitcoin fixes this.” If history is to be a guide, hard money drastically reduces crime by improving everything else.
BTC price chart on Gemini | Source: BTC/USDT on TradingView.com
Related Reading | Bitcoin Adoption: Why Paraguay Could Follow In El Salvador’s Footsteps
Anything else we need to know about this unprecedented move?
Well, if Bitcoin is going to help El Salvador thrive, Internet access is paramount. Enter Blockstream’s Adam Back, who told CNBC:
“It was an inevitability, but here already: the first country on track to make bitcoin legal tender,” said Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream.
Back said he plans to contribute technologies like Liquid and satellite infrastructure to make El Salvador a model for the world.
“We’re pleased to help El Salvador on its journey towards adoption of the Bitcoin Standard,” he said.
Enough said.
Featured Image by Sahand Hoseini on Unsplash - Charts by TradingView