What Happened: The Cuban government is reportedly looking to recognize and regulate cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, according to a report from Bloomberg.
The report citing the country's Official Gazette stated that the government, along with the Central Bank, wants to recognize cryptocurrency as payment.
The Cuban Central Bank will implement the rules and also determine how cryptocurrency license providers can operate within the country.
Earlier this year, a local publication reported that Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel was looking into the “convenience” of using cryptocurrencies for economic operations.
Read also: Majority Of Citizens In El Salvador Don't Approve Of President's Plan To Adopt Bitcoin: Report
Díaz-Canel told the country’s governors during a virtual meeting that the use and adoption of cryptocurrencies could potentially provide some relief from Cuba’s endemic fiscal deficit.
Still, the state plans to ensure that any digital asset operations remain controlled to a certain extent, with the purpose of crypto adoption being centered solely around “socio-economic interest.”
What Else: Cuba isn’t the only country looking towards cryptocurrencies to better the nation’s financial status. In June, El Salvador passed a law that would make Bitcoin BTC/USD legal tender in the country.
“Bitcoin has a market cap of $680 billion dollars. If 1% of it is invested in El Salvador, that would increase our GDP by 25%,” said the country’s president Nayib Bukele on Twitter at the time.
“On the other side, Bitcoin will have 10 million potential new users and the fastest growing way to transfer 6 billion dollars a year in remittances,” he added.
Price Action: At press time, Bitcoin was trading at $47,310, gaining 0.23% over the past 24-hours.
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