El Salvador's president says will send bill to make bitcoin legal tender

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele speaks during a news conference in San Salvador, El Salvador, June 6, 2021. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) -El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele said on Saturday that he will send a bill to Congress next week to make bitcoin legal tender in the Central American nation, touting its potential to help Salvadorans living abroad send remittances home.

"In the short term this will generate jobs and help provide financial inclusion to thousands outside the formal economy," Bukele said in a video shown at the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami.