Latin lawmakers don lazer eyes on Twitter in support of Bitcoin

Published at: June 8, 2021

Gabriel Silva, a Panamanian congressman, is moving to follow in El Salvador’s footsteps by proposing legislation to adopt Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on a national scale. 

El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele announced during the Miami Bitcoin conference on June 6, that he will submit a bill to lawmakers demanding that Bitcoin be made legal tender.

In a June 8 tweet, Silva emphasized the significance of Panama not being left behind by Bukele’s progressive crypto plans, which also includes removing capital gains tax on Bitcoin in El Salvador. According to a rough translation, Silva asserted:

“This is important. And Panama cannot be left behind. If we want to be a true technology and entrepreneurship hub, we have to support cryptocurrencies.”

“We will be preparing a proposal to present at the Assembly. If you are interested in building it, you can contact me,” he added.

Bukele’s announcement has prompted similar moves from other politicians across Latin America, however, few concrete policy proposals have been announced.

On June 7, Paraguayan congressman, Carlitos Rejala, tweeted “El Salvador to the Moon” and uploaded a picture of himself with laser eyes — a popular crypto meme used to express Bitcoin maximalism on crypto Twitter.

Earlier today, the crypto community had turned their attention to Brazilian politician, Fábio Ostermann, who similarly posted a picture of himself with laser eyes accompanied by the hashtag “#lasereyestill100k.”

pic.twitter.com/RoCtx7gu4H

— Satoshi (@Satoshii2014) June 7, 2021

Despite positive sentiment on social media regarding the apparent bullishness of Latin American lawmakers, the price of Bitcoin has continued to decline.

The price of Bitcoin has slumped roughly 10% since Bukele’s June 6 announcement from $36,000 to roughly $32,500 at the time of writing.

Tags
Related Posts
2021: A year of mass adoption for cryptocurrencies in Brazil
Throughout 2021, the Brazilian cryptocurrency market managed to distance itself from the police pages and finally win acceptance with the general public, whether in the financial market or even in the greatest national passion: soccer. Last year, Bitcoin (BTC) acted as a strong alternative to the Brazilian real that ended 2021 by breaking negative records and reaching a devaluation of 6.5% by December, making it the 38th worst currency in the world. In a year of ups and downs for Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency hit a bottom of 167,000 real in January and soared along with global markets to 355,000 …
Adoption / Jan. 15, 2022
Brazilian Senate announces incoming approval of the ‘Bitcoin law’
The bill regulating the cryptocurrency market in Brazil is expected to be approved by the National Congress in the first half of this year, according to Cointelegraph Brazil. The legislation, which has been debated in the Chamber of Deputies since 2015, has been approved in the first round of consideration. The Senate has attached it to another crypto-focused bill, which has already been approved by the Economic Affairs Committee of the Senate. Two legislators, Senator Irajá Abreu and Deputy Aureo Ribeiro, both rapporteurs of the aforementioned proposals in their respective legislative chambers, are drafting a unified text of the bill …
Regulation / April 13, 2022
President of Panama shoots down crypto bill citing FATF guidelines
Panama’s President Laurentino Cortizo has partially vetoed Bill No. 697, dubbed the “crypto bill,” saying it requires more work to better fit Panama’s financial regulations. President Cortizo previously warned in May he wouldn’t sign the bill unless it included additional Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules after Panama’s National Assembly passed the crypto bill in late April 2022. Local media outlet La Prenda obtained a copy of the 32-page veto, reporting the president wrote it’s “imperative” the cryptocurrency laws conform to new regulations recommended by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) outlining “fiscal transparency and prevention of money laundering.” President Cortizo has …
Regulation / June 17, 2022
Bill to make Bitcoin legal tender passes in El Salvador
The bill introduced by the president of El Salvador to make Bitcoin (BTC) legal tender in the nation passed the Legislative Assembly with a supermajority just before 6:00 am UTC. In a Twitter Spaces conversation with 22,000 listeners that began just after 5:00 am UTC, President Nayib Bukele said he would sign off on the historic law later that night or first thing the next day. “It goes into effect immediately,” he said, clarifying the government would allow 90 days for the infrastructure to be put into place. The #BitcoinLaw has been approved by a supermajority in the Salvadoran Congress. …
Regulation / June 9, 2021
Brazilian crypto industry gets regulatory clarity amid global uncertainty
As the global crypto community is still licking its wounds from the FTX collapse, a liquidity crisis continues to spread around centralized exchanges and decentralized finance (DeFi) alike. It is soon to be decided whether the coming regulation triggered by FTX’s bankruptcy will bring a silver lining to crypto. The Chamber of Deputies of Brazil, the lower house of the country’s federal legislative body, has passed a regulatory framework that legalizes the use of cryptocurrencies as a payment method within the country. It is estimated that 10 million Brazilians, or about 5% of the population, trade crypto assets. The largest …
Adoption / Dec. 5, 2022