Bitcoin continued its recovery on Friday morning after the government of El Salvador announced that it will adopt the digital currency as legal tender on September 7.
In a national address on Thursday night, El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele also said citizens that sign up to the government’s new Chivo e-wallet using facial recognition will also be given US$30 worth of Bitcoin.
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The new law, which was passed by a large majority in the legislature of the Central American country earlier this month, means merchants must accept Bitcoin as a payment method alongside the US dollar.
Players in the industry are already starting to make moves to take advantage of the impending change, with Bitcoin ATM operator Athena Bitcoin announcing this morning that it is planning to introduce 1,500 new machines in El Salvador.
However, the plan to make Bitcoin legal tender has attracted controversy from some parts of the country.
Earlier this week, Jaime Guevara, a member of the opposition Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, has joined a group of citizens to file a lawsuit against the new law, saying it violates El Salvador’s constitution.
Crypto markets, however, seemed unphased by the pushback in mid-morning trading in London, with Bitcoin rising 2.9% in the last 24 hours to US$34,282 while meme-inspired crypto Dogecoin bounced 11.9% higher to US$0.27.