Hi,
the theme for today's #februaryinleo, the initiative for increasing the interaction and the quality of posts, is about cryptocurrencies and governments, which falls under the #cryptomonday.
One country recognised, till date, BTC as a legal tender, namely El Salvador. It has become a legal tender on the 7th September 2021, after the bill passed for it on the 8th June 2021.
Well, it must have been something good, as Nayib Bukele, was reelected with a high majority this year. Ok, he had some though measures, like imprisoning most of the outlaws in the country, waged war with the gangs and crime cartels. This brought El Salvador to the lowest homicide rate in Latin America, as they started from one of the highest spots.
In November of that year, Bukele announced the plan of building Bitcoin City in the southeastern region of La Unión at the base of the Conchagua volcano, which would use geothermal energy to power bitcoin mining. As of today, the Salvadoran government will continue with plans to launch bitcoin-backed bonds during the first quarter of 2024.
According to him:
We will have no income tax, forever. No income tax, zero property tax, no procurement tax, zero city tax, and zero CO2 emissions ... The only taxes that they will have in Bitcoin City is VAT, half will be used to pay the municipality’s bonds and the rest for the public infrastructure and maintenance of the city.
The International Monetary Fund - IMF, wanted to stop all BTC related activities, and also delist it as a legal tender. Mainly, because they can't control it, and if BTC appreciates strong enough, El Salvador will not need the International Monetary Fund anymore, maybe on the contrary, the International Monetary Fund will borrow money from El Salvador.
I think, it is a good example, with the right measures. A government shall work for the good of the people, and if some hard measures are needed to fight crime, a government shall not be afraid to enforce the law. Also, a government can choose independently the legal tender, and by choosing crypto, it shows that it is choosing the well-being of the people.
So, what countries would you mention here, and how they are dealing with crypto?
