, according to unconfirmed reports. Xiomara Castro, the president of Honduras, could make the announcement within days. Castro reportedly said that the country should not be the only one to "escape the hegemony of the dollar."

Legalization of Bitcoin in Honduras

According to the sources, Castro also emphasized Honduras' right to "advance to the first world," but the information was unsubstantiated at the time of publication. On March 21, former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya is expected to make the announcement.

The lempira is the "fiat" currency of Honduras. A battle against Spanish settlers in 1536 resulted in the death of the Indian chief Lempira, who was named after the coin.
Honduras' economy is surprisingly strong and stable for such a small country, despite the humorless opinions of some people. Bananas, coffee and African palms are the main crops. Agriculture is the main economic sector, followed by mining and tobacco production. Honduras has the eighth largest economy in Latin America in terms of nominal GDP and the eighth largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP).

The introduction of Bitcoin as legal tender in Honduras could significantly increase interest in both economic investment and tourism in the country.

The Central American country is following a trend of high interest in cryptocurrency. Honduras previously installed its first Bitcoin and Ethereum ATM in the capital Tegucigalpa, allowing consumers to purchase the digital assets using the local currency lempira, Finbold said in August 2021.

Should Bitcoin legalization actually happen in Honduras, the country will join El Salvador and Ukraine. El Salvador was the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, and in Ukraine crypto was recently legalized.

There are now also sounds coming from various political quarters in Malaysia that Bitcoin should be legalized. However, the Central Bank of Malaysia has not yet announced a formal position on the introduction of bitcoin as legal tender, but said in January that it is looking into introducing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

More and more countries are joining the crypto revolution, but so far it remains mostly with relatively poor countries, or those with major problems. Western countries are still abstaining from legalization, but there is a good chance that they will cross the line in the next decade.