Bitcoin legal tender

This is a list of jurisdictions that have announced plans to use Bitcoin as legal tender

We have listed in the order in which announcements were made.

  • Switzerland
Bitcoin legal tender status came even before El Salvador. Switzerland has been a multi-currency jurisdiction since the WIR was created by people wanting an alternative to a financial system that had failed so dramatically in 1929. Sound familiar? WIR accounts for a tiny % of Swiss GDP but it is legal. So the idea of adding another legal currency was not too big a stretch. The announcement in 2022 that Lugano was adopting  Bitcoin as legal tender is only an example of how decentralized Switzerland is and the healthy competition at State and Gemeinde level, within a Federal level legal structure ie Lugano can do this because it is legal.

 

 

 

We expect this list to grow.The reason why more jurisdictions will make Bitcoin legal tender is simple – regulatory competition to attract bitcoin ventures. This is why Switzerland is such a haven for bitcoin ventures. and other crypto ventures, even if Swiss people trust their Swiss Franc and use it far more than WIR or Bitcoin. That is not as significant as a country such as El Salvador using it for everyday transactions. Expect Swiss bitcoin ventures to set up offices in El Salvador.

Real usage starts of course with small countries faced with some tough choices – a “first the rest then the west” narrative