El Salvador made Bitcoin legal tender earlier this year. It’s still the only country to have ever done so—but is Tonga next?
A Tongan member of parliament hopes the country can follow El Salvador steps in adopting bitcoin as legal tender and build the way for other Pacific islands to follow its revolutionary path, as enthusiasm for the potential of cryptocurrencies engulfs emerging economies.
“Tonga is the highest remittance-dependent country on earth. Between 38% and 41.1% of our GDP, depending on which World Bank figures you use, is remittances. To get those remittances to Tonga, Western Union takes a 30% bite out of them, on average. It can be 50%. In El Salvador, it’s closer to 50%. Bitcoin is the first truly global natively open monetary system. Blockchain is the most optimal storage medium for money if your goal is decentralization and complete, egalitarian democratization of money.” – said Lord Fusitu’a.
Meanwhile El Salvador Bitcoin adoption reaches around 50%. El Salvador’s Bitcoin adoption is breaking new records every day as the number of citizens using Bitcoin wallet Chivo reached over 3 million downloads. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele took to Twitter to reveal the fast-growing adoption. The President also revealed the country has mined its first Bitcoin using the country’s volcanic energy. As the production facilities for clean Bitcoin mining increase, it could also attract miners to the country.
