Bitcoin is now a legal tender - at least in El Salvador.
There the order at McDonald's can now be paid for with the crypto currency.
San Salvador / Munich - Good news for people who use Bitcoin.
Because since Tuesday (September 7th) the cryptocurrency has been officially recognized as a legally recognized means of payment.
But only in one country: El Salvador.
President Nayib Bukele had also confirmed that his government had bought their first bitcoins.
The Central American state is the first country in the world to take this step.
Bitcoin in El Salvador - McDonald's, Starbucks & Co. also accept the means of payment
The law stipulates that every trader who is technically able to do so must accept Bitcoin as a means of payment.
This also applies to international giants such as the American fast food chain McDonald's, as a journalist confirmed on Twitter.
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 Werdenum (@AaronvanW) September 7, 2021
And even at the American coffee shop Starbucks, you can already pay with Bitcoin in El Salvador, as a tweet from the Salvadoran Ministry of Communications shows.
El café y postrecito de la tarde también lo podes pagar con #Bitcoin.
😉☕🍰 # BitcoinDay pic.twitter.com/SYI9xqHDXs
- Secretaría de Comunicaciones 🇸🇻 (@ComunicacionSV) September 7, 2021
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and citizens not pleased
From Monday to Tuesday, the Bitcoin price fell by almost 19 percent within 24 hours.
The Salvadoran President confirmed that his government bought 150 BTC (for the equivalent of almost six million euros) at the bottom of the sell-off.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) previously announced that it did not endorse El Salvador's decision to accept Bitcoin as legal tender.
Some Salvadoran citizens also seem unhappy. Signs like “No to Bitcoin” led to the first anti-Bitcoin protests in the capital San Salvador on Wednesday.