Wales 'Should Make BTC Legal Tender Like El Salvador'
Bitcoin

Wales 'Should Make BTC Legal Tender Like El Salvador'

2 Minuten
2 years ago

Councillor Will Thomas believes that the cryptocurrency has the potential to underpin the world's financial system one day.

Wales 'Should Make BTC Legal Tender Like El Salvador'

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Wales should follow in El Salvador's footsteps by embracing Bitcoin as legal tender, a local politician has said.

Councillor Will Thomas believes that the cryptocurrency has the potential to underpin the world's financial system one day — and is calling on the country to become an early adopter. Speaking to Wales Online, he said:

"The cryptocurrency industry is still a Wild West. Bitcoin is different to this."

Thomas went on to describe the technology as "very exciting" — and argued that its increasing value incentivizes consumers to spend rather than save.

Inevitably, not everyone agrees with his assessment of things. Simon Rudkin, a lecturer in economics at Swansea University, told the publication:

"The fact that Bitcoin is not anchored by a government means that it is susceptible to wilder swings in value and ultimately has the potential to collapse."

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Walking a Lonely Path

El Salvador sparked controversy when it announced plans to elevate Bitcoin to the same status as the U.S. dollar.

The Central American nation even received a stern warning from the International Monetary Fund.

As of now, it remains the only country to take the plunge and embrace the world's biggest cryptocurrency as legal tender — however, a number of Latin American countries have expressed an interest in following suit. 

This comes against a backdrop of growing concerns about inflation, which has the potential to diminish the spending power of everyday consumers.

Critics argue that, while the current levels of inflation are a concern, Bitcoin isn't an effective solution because of how it fluctuates in value.

This week's brutal activity in the market will undoubtedly help fuel their argument — with BTC suffering a peak-to-trough fall of 16% over the past seven days.

It's fair to say that the chances of Wales following in the footsteps of El Salvador are razor thin.

The country is part of the United Kingdom, and uses pound sterling.

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