Luc Smits van Oyen
El Salvador hosts Bitcoin meeting for 44 countries
Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, tweeted last Sunday (May 15, 2022) that 44 different countries would meet the next day to discuss Bitcoin and related issues.
"Tomorrow, 32 central banks and 12 financial authorities (44 countries) will meet in El Salvador to discuss financial inclusion, digital economy, banking the unbanked, the rollout of #Bitcoin and its benefits in our country."
The central banks and financial authorities present at this meeting were mostly from developing countries, such as Nigeria, Egypt, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kenya, Uganda, and so on.
The meeting has since taken place, but nothing has been revealed yet about topics discussed or any outcomes.
El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in September last year. The country also has the cryptocurrency on its balance sheet, with more than 2,000 Bitcoin so far.
On Friday, May 13, Bitcoin Beach's Twitter account announced that "Central bankers from Angola, Armenia, Bangladesh, Burundi, Congo, Costa Rica, Egypt, Gambia, Ghana, India, Namibia, Senegal, Sudan, Uganda, Zambia and 25 other developing countries are getting on a plane today to fly to El Salvador."
Not long after President Bukele's official announcement, Bitcoin Beach tweeted a map of the world showing countries that have already adopted Bitcoin or are attending Monday's meeting with the color yellow.
It took the first country 12 years to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, the second country about 8 months, and if the president of Panama signs his recently drafted Bitcoin law, they will be the third just a month after the second country. Such a large gathering like this just underscores the fact that there is indeed great international interest in cryptocurrencies.
"Tomorrow, 32 central banks and 12 financial authorities (44 countries) will meet in El Salvador to discuss financial inclusion, digital economy, banking the unbanked, the rollout of #Bitcoin and its benefits in our country."
The central banks and financial authorities present at this meeting were mostly from developing countries, such as Nigeria, Egypt, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kenya, Uganda, and so on.
The meeting has since taken place, but nothing has been revealed yet about topics discussed or any outcomes.
El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in September last year. The country also has the cryptocurrency on its balance sheet, with more than 2,000 Bitcoin so far.
On Friday, May 13, Bitcoin Beach's Twitter account announced that "Central bankers from Angola, Armenia, Bangladesh, Burundi, Congo, Costa Rica, Egypt, Gambia, Ghana, India, Namibia, Senegal, Sudan, Uganda, Zambia and 25 other developing countries are getting on a plane today to fly to El Salvador."
Not long after President Bukele's official announcement, Bitcoin Beach tweeted a map of the world showing countries that have already adopted Bitcoin or are attending Monday's meeting with the color yellow.
It took the first country 12 years to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, the second country about 8 months, and if the president of Panama signs his recently drafted Bitcoin law, they will be the third just a month after the second country. Such a large gathering like this just underscores the fact that there is indeed great international interest in cryptocurrencies.