By
Steve Muchoki
April 25th, 2024
Tweeting from a Mcdonald’s location in San Salvador, Journalist Aaron van Wirdum confirmed the availability of BTC transactions.
El Salvador’s unprecedented Bitcoin Law has finally taken effect, making it the first country to accept the leading cryptocurrency as legal tender. The law, passed on June 9 this year, was hailed by many in the Bitcoin and the larger crypto community as a win and a step towards the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency. This acceptance of Bitcoin as a legitimate payment method has brought with it another way for Salvadorans to pay for goods and services from their mobile devices. Fast-food chain McDonald’s is one of the first businesses to accept payment in Bitcoin (BTC).
BTC at McDonald’s
Tweeting from a McDonald’s location in San Salvador, Journalist Aaron van Wirdum confirmed the availability of BTC transactions. Posting a slip with a QR code printed on it, van Wirdum, explained that scanning the code took him to an invoice page where he could pay for his breakfast using Lightning Network.
Just walked into a McDonald's in San Salvador to see if I could pay for my breakfast with bitcoin, tbh fully expecting to be told no.
But low and behold, they printed a ticket with QR that took me to a webpage with Lightning invoice, and now I'm enjoying my desayuno traditional! pic.twitter.com/NYCkMNbv7U
— Aaron van Wirdum (@AaronvanW) September 7, 2021
Lightning Network ‘is a decentralized network using smart contract functionality in the blockchain to enable instant payments across a network of participants’. The network prides itself in providing lightning-fast, low-cost transactions across blockchains. Lighting will no doubt, have a vital role to play in the adoption of payments in Bitcoin by Salvadorians.
The mass use of Bitcoin as a medium of trade is in line with Satoshi Nakamoto’s original plan for Bitcoin. In Satoshi’s 2008 whitepaper, Bitcoin is described as electronic cash. The cryptocurrency is, of course, not limited to one use. It has proven to be a profitable, albeit volatile, investment asset.
Salvadoran president, Nayib Bukele has defended the law against local and international regulator opposition by stating that it is meant to aid the 70% unbanked Salvadorans and streamline global remittances, the latter being a claim that a Bank of America report from late July seems to support.
El Salvador Buys the Dip as BTC Plummets $10K
A Monday tweet from President Bukele revealed that El Salvador had purchased its first 200 Bitcoins. They went on to purchase more coins on Tuesday, a day dubbed #BitcoinDay by the president in his series of tweets. On the same day, Bitcoin took a nearly $10,000 tumble from Monday’s $52,800 high.
The South American country took advantage of the dip and bought 150 more coins. Minutes after the president announced the second purchase of the day, he noted that the “discount is ending” and “thanked” the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the dip that had saved his country “a million in printed paper”. By the end of the day, El Salvador was in possession of 550 Bitcoin.
It appears the discount is ending 🥲
Thanks for the dip @IMFNews. We saved a million in printed paper.
El Salvador now holds 550 bitcoin.#BitcoinDay #BTC 🇸🇻
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) September 7, 2021
Meanwhile, Panama is working on rules to legalize the use of Bitcoin and Ethereum as modes of payment. The bill was introduced by pro-crypto, independent congressman Gabriel Silva. A draft of the document revealed that it would allow Panamans to “freely agree on the use of crypto assets, including without limitation Bitcoin and Ethereum, as a means of payment for any civil or commercial operation not prohibited by the legal system of the Republic of Panama.”