Topic: Bitcoin As Legal Tender? (Read 145 times)

First of all, before putting questions like this to the forum, please search for existing threads on the same subject.

We have absolutely beaten this subject to death here.

To answer your questions (for the fifth time in the last three months):

1. "Legal Tender" is not the same as "legal". The term "Legal Tender" has a specific meaning in the US Constitution, and people misuse this term all of the time.

2. Bitcoin is legal to hold and trade in almost every country in the world, including China. In this context it's rather silly (and dangerous) to call to make it "even legaler".

3. Legal Tender means the government forcing people to use Bitcoin whether they want to or not. This goes against everything Bitcoin has ever stood for.

4. Legal Tender means that Bitcoin would become part of the government, which is the very opposite of what most people want from Bitcoin. With special protected status (above all other cryptos, all other digital currencies and above all other forms of trade), Bitcoin would necessarily be regulated as a facility of the government.

Calling for Bitcoin to be "legal tender" usually just means the person asking for that doesn't know what the word, "legal tender" actually means.

But for those who do know, this is calling for something that is immoral, impractical, and dangerous.

So far the ones I have gathered it is only El salvador and Central African Republic that support bitcoin as one of their currencies.
Which one? The country’s or bitcoin’s?
No as countries do not have direct access nor control over the entire bitcoin system even if they make bitcoin as one of their legal tender. It just means that any citizen of that country can use bitcoin as a mean of payment for any official transaction such as taxes and such.
People have mixed opinions but I believe the general consensus says yes. It takes a step forward to bitcoin’s global adaptation but at the same time due to scalability issues it hinders a lot of people from actually using the blockchain due to it being congested.

No, Legal tender means that the currency is legal, and in addition to being legal, dealing with it is binding, meaning that service providers must provide a method of payment using it and not refuse to accept it. If Bitcoin is announced as Legal tender in a country, it will be like the local currency in terms of acceptance and whoever refuses to accept it without a convincing reason may get himself into legal trouble.


It is necessary to modify the method of issuing invoices in all government institutions and add the option of paying in Bitcoin.


Scalability will be the problem. I do not think that the current Bitcoin network is able to handle daily transactions for all countries of the world with reasonable fees.

BTC as a legal tender simple mea, you can buy goods and services from the country and pay with BTC without rejection, which is what many countries that made it legal tender are enjoying from BTC in their land and it has make many business men and women to improve in their businesses.

Even though the whole world accepted BTC as a legal tender, it will still remain decentralized currency, which no country can control BTC price in the market, and it will boost the world economy but it will be difficult for the whole world to make BTC legal tender.

I noticed that, is very easy for undeveloped countries to accept to make BTC legal tender in their countries, which the first country that made it legal tender is El Salvador and it has developed the country for foreign investors to establish many Businesses in their land to develop the country.

If you consider regulations and laws are form of centralization, then yes Bitcoin become more centralized.

There are two ways to control Bitcoin/make Bitcoin become centralized: own all the Bitcoins that has been mined or own the hashrate by purchase all the mining rigs. Even all countries accept Bitcoin become legal tender, it's not make Bitcoin become centralized because they only hold the coins from their citizen, they're not really own the coins that the citizen hold in their centralized wallet/exchanges.

Currently all the countries and entities that own Bitcoin only 12.237% from 21 Million, it's not even reach 50%.

1. El Salvador, they've had the bitcoin as a legal tender for a while now.

2. When it's become recognized as a legal tender, that means that there's more people that will know about bitcoin and with more people using bitcoin, there's more demands and with more demands, the price will eventually increase even more.

3. It doesn't, when more countries adopt bitcoin as a legal tender and countries can't get all the networks, that means that it's more people from different countries and no way you can centralize nations as one thus staying decentralized.

4. The network will stay decentralized.

5. Could be the case but in my opinion, the reason for this if it ever happens is because the government sees the potential of bitcoin and they want to get in the action and take profits too.

No, it doesn't make Bitcoin centralized. Declaring Bitcoin as legal tender doesn't do anything to Bitcoin's protocol. It doesn't do anything to Bitcoin itself. Bitcoin can't be put under control of any man, of any government. Bitcoin as a legal tender is simply a way of treating it. Governments may treat Bitcoin anyway they want, whether as criminal money or as legal tender, but it can't do anything to the Bitcoin system.

It may be beneficial, but I think it is enough that a country acknowledges Bitcoin as a legal alternative currency for its people to enjoy its features.

Just a heads up about the Central African Republic. It's true that they've made Bitcoin as their legal tender but there were some modifications about that law last year and they've removed that legal status for being a legal tender of Bitcoin, means Bitcoin as a legal tender was revoked[1] by their government.

[1] CAR to drop crypto as legal tender

Yes, El Salvador and Central African Republic (CAR) .

It means that in these countries it is used for transactions, payment of taxes and any other business that requires financial commitments in the country. It also mean that it attracts investors in to the country who are pro-bitcoin.


No, it doesn't. Bitcoin will remain decentralized for as long as it is existence. You can read about its decentralization that cannot be altered in the bitcoin white paper. -https://bitcoin.org/en/bitcoin-paper

Absolutely. I already wrote early about it attractiving investors to the country which will improve the economy of the country and job creation. They will also be increase in adoption of bitcoin and then you become your own bank in every sense of the word. You are not going to be afraid that anything will happen to your money because you are in custody of it.

Bitcoin is not maintained by one entity but by several entities through nodes scattered all over. Bitcoin cannot be centralized. Read the Bitcoin White Paper

It stays decentralized.

Yes. It shows a government that is progressive and wants to free her people from the problems with that faces the traditional financial system one of which is currency devaluation

Allowing the use of bitcoin in a certain country does not mean that bitcoin is legal nor does it mean that bitcoin is illegal. Most countries in the world have allowed their citizens to use bitcoin


yes, the reason why most countries in the world have not made laws about bitcoin is due to many bureaucratic issues and because they still want to observe more how far bitcoin will come, when countries like the USA make laws about bitcoin, then the rest of the Countries will also make laws about bitcoin, but with bitcoin it is accepted in the US and US financial regulators collect bitcoin, so I think politicians will not make laws about bitcoin. will leave things as they are


I confess that you don't understand the question, what system are you talking about?


no. bitcoin remains decentralized


Of course, think that with clear laws a company could pay salaries with bitcoin and the pension system could deduct the value in bitcoin, people could pay water, electricity, TV and internet bills using bitcoin, that's why it is necessary to have laws clear about bitcoin. This does not make bitcoin centralized


people get confused. bitcoin will not be controlled and centralized; What is controlled and centralized are private things that belong to people, I'm talking about things like exchanges, bitcoin ATM, banks, wallets. as they are private property and that in the real world they would be regulated, so also on the internet it doesn't change anything the fact that governments can regulate this. but bitcoin itself will not be centralized


governments regulate everything. So they're not seeming friendly, they're simply doing their job

Bitcoin As Legal Tender?


As there are few countries that have put BTC as legal tender?
What does this mean for the system?
Does this make BTC more centralized?
Is making BTC legal tender a benefit?
If say all the countries in the world did this? Could BTC be more controlled and centralized?
Or would it stay decentralized?
Is making it Legal Tender just a way to offer acceptance. As a way for the government to seem friendly and let the people have better access to their own financial means?
Explain this better please?