El Salvador abandons Bitcoin as legal tender after failed experiment

Re:El Salvador abandons Bitcoin as legal tender after failed... by abduhl on Monday February 03, 2025 @11:10PM (#42927812)

That is actually the defining characteristic of legal tender: “money that is legally valid for the payment of debts and that must be accepted for that purpose when offered”

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legal%20tender

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Re:El Salvador abandons Bitcoin as legal tender after failed... by antihipocrat on Tuesday February 04, 2025 @02:51AM (#42929406)

Thanks, you're right and I was totally wrong. I'd delete my comment if I could

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Re:El Salvador abandons Bitcoin as legal tender after failed... by rsynnott on Tuesday February 04, 2025 @06:50AM (#42931192)

Its status in El Salvador was actually a bit more than _just_ legal tender; merchants were _required_ to accept it.

For instance, the euro is legal tender in the eurozone. I can pay a tax bill or a bank loan with 10cent coins, and technically they have to accept that (though note that some countries do have special rules around whether small change is legal tender). However, a merchant is not required to take my wheelbarrow full of 10cent coins in exchange for goods and services; no debt exists before the purchase.

El Salvador was forcing the merchant to take the wheelbarrow.

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