El Salvador Plans Bill to Adopt Bitcoin As Legal Tender: CNBC

(Bloomberg) -- El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele said he plans to submit legislation that would make Bitcoin legal tender in the Central American country.

“In the short term, this will generate jobs and help provide financial inclusion,” Bukele said in a video broadcast at the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami. He said he would send the legislature a bill next week.

Jack Mallers, founder and CEO of the payments platform Strike, presented the video during the meeting, and said Bukele’s government asked him to work in a plan for the use of Bitcoin.

“They asked me to help write a plan and that they viewed Bitcoin as a world-class currency and that we needed to put together a Bitcoin plan to help these people,” Mallers said on Saturday, according to the Bitcoin 2021 conference Twitter account.

Bukele, 39, said the use of Bitcoin as a tender can help shape a better future for El Salvador. “I’m into politics to leave a legacy for our country,” he said.

Earlier: Key Takeaways From Dorsey, Winklevosses at Bitcoin 2021: TOPLive

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.