As of September 7, El Salvador becomes the first country in the world to formally recognize Bitcoin as a legal currency. Edward Snowden congratulated El Salvador on the recent recognition of Bitcoin as a legal currency, but warns other countries to not delay in adopting Bitcoin.
In 2013, technology consultant Edward Joseph Snowden, at the age of 29, shocked the world by leaking classified documents about several programs of major U.S. security agencies to the Guardian and Washington Post. He has since been on the run from the U.S. justice system, where he is wanted for "treason" and is considered by many to be an icon of press freedom.
Snowden often communicates through the Twitter platform, several times he has also talked about cryptocurrencies, this time Snowden commented on a tweet by crypto journalist Aaron van Wirdum, who was able to pay for his McDonald's meal in San Salvador on September 7 in Bitcoin. Snowden responded to Aaron Van Wirdum's tweet by pointing out how there could now be pressure on competing nations to acquire bitcoin and how this could incentivize adoption:
"Today Bitcoin was formally recognized as legal tender in its first country. Beyond the headlines, there is now pressure on competing nations to acquire Bitcoin-even if only as a reserve asset-as its design massively incentivizes early adoption. Latecomers may regret hesitating".
In addition to McDonald's and other major brands such as Starbucks, iPhone, Pizza Hut and many others, have begun to accept Bitcoin in El Salvador, but they have also had to do so, since the government has made it clear that it is mandatory for all businesses to accept it, although then they can still change the Bitcoin received into dollars.
