El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele said in a national address on Thursday that a recently passed law making bitcoin legal tender will take effect on Sept. 7.
Earlier in the day, Athena Bitcoin said it plans to invest over $1 million to install some 1,500 cryptocurrency ATMs in El Salvador, especially where residents receive remittances from abroad.
El Salvador relies heavily on money sent back from workers abroad, one of the highest ratios in the world.
The high costs of commissions associated with sending money home would be eliminated by using the cryptocurrency, said Bukeel. He also mentioned that the law will be optional.
In the future, crypto is expected to account for a larger slice of more than $500 billion in global cross-border remittance, a fintech analyst at Autonomous Research said.
