El Salvador becomes first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender

The move to make the virtual coin legal tender is a rare slice of good news for the largest cryptocurrency, which is struggling to recover from a rout in May.

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele said the nation has adopted Bitcoin as legal tender, a step he believes will create jobs and promote financial inclusion.

Bukele, Latin America’s youngest president who’s known to break from the norms, said on Twitter lawmakers approved the legislation by a “supermajority.”

The 39-year-old leader has previously said that Bitcoin could boost the economy, help counter El Salvador’s low banking penetration rate and facilitate faster transfers for $6 billion of remittances a year. The move to make the virtual coin legal tender is a rare slice of good news for the largest cryptocurrency, which is