El Salvador Bitcoin: How the Country Made Crypto Law and What It Changed

When El Salvador Bitcoin, the first national currency to be adopted as legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar. Also known as Bitcoin legal tender, it triggered a global debate about money, sovereignty, and financial freedom. El Salvador didn’t just experiment with crypto—it rewrote the rules. In September 2021, it became the first country in the world to make Bitcoin a legal form of payment for taxes, goods, and services. No central bank, no intermediaries, no approval needed. Just Bitcoin, directly from person to person.

This move wasn’t just about technology. It was a direct response to high remittance costs, limited banking access, and inflation fears. Over 70% of Salvadorans rely on money sent from abroad, mostly from the U.S. Before Bitcoin, sending $200 home could cost $20 in fees. With Bitcoin, that dropped to under $1. The government rolled out the Chivo wallet, gave people $30 in Bitcoin just to sign up, and even installed hundreds of Bitcoin ATMs. But adoption wasn’t smooth. Many people didn’t understand it. Some lost money to scams. Others just didn’t trust a currency that could swing 20% in a day.

The ripple effects reached far beyond Central America. Other nations watched closely. Some, like Paraguay and Ukraine, started exploring similar paths. Meanwhile, the IMF and World Bank warned of risks—volatility, money laundering, lack of consumer protection. But El Salvador kept going. It bought more Bitcoin during dips, even when the price crashed below $20,000. It started using Bitcoin to fund infrastructure projects. And it began pushing for Bitcoin bonds to attract global investors. This wasn’t just a policy change. It was a full-scale economic experiment, run in real time with real people.

Today, Bitcoin isn’t the default currency in El Salvador. Most people still use dollars. But it’s there—on the sidewalk vendors’ phones, in the government’s reserves, in the debates at kitchen tables. It changed how Salvadorans think about money. It forced the world to ask: Can a nation really run on crypto? And if one can, what does that mean for the rest of us?

Below, you’ll find real stories, deep dives, and hard truths about crypto projects, exchanges, and policies that either mirror or contradict what’s happening in El Salvador. From fake airdrops pretending to be government-backed to exchanges that block users for using VPNs—this is the messy, real-world aftermath of Bitcoin becoming law.