Bitcoin to become legal tender in El Salvador on Sept 7

Women buy at a store at El Zonte Beach in Chiltiupan, El Salvador June 10, 2021. Picture taken June 10, 2021. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas/Files

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) -El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele said in a national address on Thursday that a recently passed law making bitcoin legal tender will take effect on Sept. 7, noting that its use will be optional.

El Salvador's Congress already approved Bukele's proposal to embrace the cryptocurrency, making El Salvador the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender.