El Salvador Officially Starts Trading Bitcoin
Today, Tuesday, it began allowing the official and legal trading of the encrypted digital currency Bitcoin in El Salvador, becoming the first country in the world to take this step with the entry into force of the law that was passed three months ago.
The law states that any merchant is obligated to accept bitcoin as a payment currency if they have the technical capabilities to do so.
Taxes in El Salvador can also be paid using cryptocurrency.
No capital gains tax will be levied on Bitcoin trading.
The determination of the price of the digital currency against the US dollar will be left freely according to market mechanisms.
Late last month, the El Salvador government began installing 200 Bitcoin ATMs, allowing its citizens to convert digital currency into US dollars and withdraw cash from machines as part of the government's efforts to legalize the world's most popular digital currency.
The President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, said on the social networking site Twitter that the government will install 200 ATMs to be initially associated with the digital wallet launched by the government for citizens in the name of Shifu.
The president added that ATM transactions will be free of charge, adding that there will also be 50 financial branches across the country to allow bitcoin users to deposit and withdraw their money.
It is noteworthy that the US dollar is used in El Salvador as the official currency instead of the local currency.
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