El Salvador has passed landmark legislation that establishes a legal framework for all cryptocurrencies to build on the country’s “first-mover advantage,” the National Bitcoin Office of El Salvador (ONBTC) announced early Thursday morning Hong Kong time.
See related article: El Salvador snaps up US$15 mln in Bitcoin after price plunge
Fast facts
- “With the passing of this digital securities law, El Salvador will offer unprecedented consumer protection from bad actors in the ‘crypto’ space while also firmly establishing that we are open for business to all those who wish to build the future with us on Bitcoin,” the ONBTC said.
- As part of the legislation, El Salvador will establish the National Digital Assets Commission, a regulatory agency for securities laws, protecting the rights of digital asset purchasers and issuers and fraud prevention.
- The law will also “pave the way for volcano bonds,” the ONBTC said, referring to El Salvador’s plans to issue US$1 billion worth of Bitcoin-backed bonds, half of which will fund the development of “Bitcoin City,” while the rest will be used to increase the country’s Bitcoin holdings.
- El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in Sept. 2021.
- Bitcoin was up 4.4% in the past 24 hours to US$18,193 at 07:45 p.m. in Hong Kong, to trade above US$18,000 for the first time in nearly a month, according to CoinGecko data.
- See related article: Bitcoin investments will grow ‘immensely’: El Salvador president