Bitcoin Law of El Salvador

BITCOIN LAW

The purpose of this law is to regulate bitcoin as legal tender, unrestricted with liberal power, unlimited in any transaction and to any title that public or private natural or legal persons require to carry out. [La presente ley tiene como objeto la regulación del bitcoin como moneda de curso legal, irrestricto con poder liberatorio, ilimitado en cualquier transacción y a cualquier título que las personas naturales o jurídicas públicas o privadas requieran realizar]

LEY BITCOIN [Original in Spanish]

Non official English translation

PUBLICATION DATE : 06/09/2021

THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

THE REPUBLIC OF EL SALVADOR,

CONSIDERING:

I.That in accordance with Article 102 of the Constitution of the Republic, the State is under the obligation to promote and protect private initiative, creating the necessary conditions to increase the national wealth for the benefit of the greatest number of inhabitants.

II.That under Legislative Decree No. 201, of November 30, 2000, published in the Diario Officer No.241, Volume 349, dated December 22, 2000, the United States dollar was adopted of America as legal tender.

III.That approximately seventy percent of the population does not have access to services traditional financials.

IV.That it is the obligation of the State to facilitate the financial inclusion of its citizens in order to guarantee in a better way your rights.

V.That in order to promote the economic growth of the country, it is necessary to authorize the circulation of a digital currency whose value obeys exclusively free market criteria, to in order to increase the national wealth for the benefit of the greatest number of inhabitants.

That according to the previous considerations it is essential to issue the basic rules that will regulate the legal course of bitcoin.

THEREFORE, in use of his constitutional powers and at the initiative of the President of the Republic, through the Minister of Economy.

DECREED THIS BITCOIN LAW

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISION

Art. 1.-The purpose of this law is to regulate bitcoin as legal tender, unrestricted with liberal power, unlimited in any transaction and to any title that natural or legal persons public or private require perform.The aforementioned in the previous paragraph is without prejudice to the application of the Monetary Integration Law.

Art. 2.-The exchange rate between bitcoin and the dollar of the United States of America, henceforth dollar, will be freely established by the market.

Art. 3.-All prices may be expressed in bitcoin.

Art. 4.-All tax contributions can be paid in bitcoin.

Art. 5.-Exchanges in bitcoin will not be subject to tax on the earnings capital companies as well than any legal tender.

Art. 6.-For accounting purposes, the dollar will be used as the reference currency.

Art. 7.-Every economic agent must accept bitcoin as a form of payment when it is offered by who ad wants a good or service.

Art. 8.-Without prejudice to the actions of the private sector, the State will provide alternatives that allow the user carry out transactions in bitcoin, as well as have automatic and instant bitcoin convertibility to dollar in case you want it. The State will promote the necessary training and mechanisms so that the population can access bitcoin transactions.

Art. 9.-The limitations and operation of the automatic and instantaneous conversion alternatives of bitcoin to dollar provided by the State will be specified in the Regulations issued for this purpose.

Art. 10.-The Executive Branch will create the necessary institutional structure for the purposes of applying the present law.

CHAPTER II

FINAL PROVISIONS AND TRANSITORY

Art. 11.-The Central Reserve Bank and the Superintendency of the Financial System will issue the regulations corresponding within the period mentioned in article 16 of this law.

Art. 12.-They are excluded from the obligation expressed in article 7 of this law, who by fact notoriously and obviously do not have access to the technologies that allow to execute transactions in bitcoin. The State will promote training and necessary mechanism so that the population can access bitcoin transactions.

Art. 13.-All the obligations in money expressed in dollars, existing prior to the validity of this law, may be paid in bitcoin.

Art. 14.-Before of the entry into force of this law, the State will guarantee, through the creation of a trust in the Development Bank of El Salvador BANDESAL, automatic and instant convertibility from bitcoin to dollar of the alternatives provided by the State mentioned in article 8 of this law.

Art. 15.-This law will have a special character in its application with respect to other laws that regulate matter, being repealed any provision that contradicts it.

Art. 16.-This decree will enter into force ninety days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

GIVEN IN THE BLUE ROOM OF THE PALACE LEGISLATIVE: San Salvador, on the eighth day of the month of June of the year two thousand twenty-one.

ERNESTO ALFREDO CASTRO ALDANA,PRESIDENT.

SUECY BEVERLEY CALLEJAS ESTRADA,FIRST VICE PRESIDENT.RODRIGO JAVIER AYALA CLAROS,SECOND VICE PRESIDENT.WILLIAM ANTONIO GALLEGOS NAVARRETE,THIRD VICE PRESIDENT.ELISA MARCELA ROSALES RAMÍREZ,FIRST SECRETARY.NUMAN POMPILIO SALGADO GARCÍA,SECOND SECRETARY.JOSÉ SERAFÍN ORANTES RODRÍGUEZ,THIRD SECRETARY.REINALDO ALCIDES CARBALLO CARBALLO,FOURTH SECRETARY.

PRESIDENTIAL HOUSE: San Salvador, on the ninth day of the month of June, two thousand twenty-one.

BE PUBLISHED,NAYIB ARMANDO BUKELE ORTEZ,REPUBLIC PRESIDENT.MARÍA LUISA HAYEM BREVÉ,MINISTER OF ECONOMY.

Connected Laws

LAW OF CREATION OF THE BITCOIN TRUST-The purpose of this law is the constitution and regulation of the operation of the Bitcoin Trust, which is constituted in favor of the State and Government of El Salvador, through the users of the state digital wallet (wallet), it will be established for an indeterminate period, As of the effective date of this law, and its purpose will be to financially support the alternatives that the State provides, without prejudice to private initiatives, that allow the user to carry out the automatic and instantaneous convertibility of Bitcoin to the United States dollar. in the case that the user so wishes within a state digital wallet.

BITCOIN LAW REGULATION-The purpose of this Regulation is to develop, facilitate and ensure the application of the Bitcoin Law, in order to create a clear regulatory environment in which the individual and businesses can carry out transactions in bitcoin as legal tender in a way that respects laws and standards against money laundering and other laws of the Republic and preserve the security, soundness and integrity of the financial system in general.