Making Bitcoin a legal tender means when a person goes to purchase a commodity, instead of paying with dollar or whatever currency is being used, they pay with BTC.
Given the unstable nature of cryptocurrencies, and the untraceable nature, would you suggest it wise for countries to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender?
Recently, El Salvador and Central African Republic announced that they have adopted Bitcoin as a legal tender.
There are multiple factors in play. I will try to summarize them for you,
- Government can't control cryptocurrency. It is controlled by miners so a government can't print more if their banks need it.
- Cryptos are pseudo anonymous. With the availability of coinjoin and mixing services, it is next to impossible to trace any illegal transaction. So it can be very easily used for illegal activities including money laundering and terrorism financing.
- The price volatility is a real challenge and can affect a country in a very bad way.
These are the major reasons why governments are reluctant in adopting bitcoin or any other cryptos. Also for a country with huge population, may pose some new challenges which we may not have an idea right away!