Bitcoin News
By Steven Anderson
1 / 11
Caitlin Long, what's the big deal what's "legal tender" anyway? It's a commercial law term (means citizens must accept "X" if offered in payment of an obligation in exchange for…
2 / 11
In 2018, some in Wyoming wanted to make Bitcoin legal tender, as Wyoming had already done w/ gold & silver.
3 / 11
So, it wasn't possible to make Bitcoin legal tender in the US without amending the US constitution.
4 / 11
I'm not an accountant so making an educated guess. Bitcoin is treated as an "indefinite intangible" which means lower-of-cost-or-market, but if it's a foreign currency it gets…
5 / 11
And, if I'm right, other corporate treasurers could also buy Bitcoin w/o facing its punitive accounting treatment they'd now account for it like any other foreign currency.
6 / 11
Back to the law. Commercial law lays out the rights and obligations of parties when exchanging property + establishes a road map for judges to adjudicate disputes.
7 / 11
GOT IT--*IF* ElSalvador does pass legislation to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender, BTC would v likely become *MONEY* under US commercial law: "Money means a medium of exchange…
8 / 11
What's the significance? Well, it means Bitcoin would gain special status in banking systems globally. Banks would likely treat it as any other foreign currency.
9 / 11
The knock-on effect of El Salvador’s announcement is that other countries may now follow. One likely candidate has always been Russia, which has been gradually de-dollarizing…
10 / 11
However this plays out, it's a historic day for Bitcoin & it advances adoption no matter how it plays out. Wonderful for all involved.
11 / 11
Users were like: How is this any different from Japan? Seems like a nothing-burger if they’re not really the first.
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