Bitcoin to be official currency in El Salvador under three months

El Salvador has passed a resolution to make Bitcoin a legal currency, which makes it the first country to do so. According to the law, citizens will be able to use Bitcoin to do everything from paying taxes and paying off debts to buying goods and services.

The move was championed by President Nayib Bukele, who says it's a way to help those who don't have access to banks, and those who want to send money back to the country from abroad, but critics worry that it'll be more show than substantive change.

While Bitcoin will become an official currency for El Salvador in just under three months, it won't be the only currency — the US dollar, which was previously the country's only currency, will be sticking around as an option, though according to Cryptonews Bukele said that he wanted the country's citizens to think about money in terms of Bitcoin, not dollars. The resolution states that citizens should be able to convert between the two currencies at any time, and that US dollars "will be used as the reference currency" for accounting.