Bitcoin Adoption in El Salvador: Remittance Costs Key to Take-Up of Cryptocurrency, Development Bank Says

 Bitcoin Adoption in El Salvador: Remittance Costs Key to Take-Up of Cryptocurrency, Development Bank Says

President Nayib Bukele has touted Bitcoin adoption as a way to facilitate remittance payments from Salvadorans living abroad.

A street vendor near cart with stickers which are part of campaign againstuse of Bitcoin as legal tender

HIGHLIGHTS

• CABEI participated in a meeting of the Central American Monetary Council
• The assistance is meant to help El Salvador navigate unexplored waters
• Under 1 percent of volume of global crossborder remittances are in crypto

Central American countries are eagerly waiting to see if El Salvador's adoption of Bitcoin as parallel legal tender cuts the cost of remittances, an important source of income for millions of people, the region's development bank said.

President Nayib Bukele's congressional allies have already approved legislation giving the cryptocurrency official currency status alongside the US dollar, a first in the world. The move takes effect in September.

Bukele has touted Bitcoin adoption as a way to facilitate remittance payments from Salvadorans living abroad. Bitcoin price in India stood at Rs. 37.86 lakhs as of 1pm IST on August 25.