Taher commented the government of El Salvador is following a digital agenda, seeking to modernize the country. The official said that her country adopted Bitcoin because it is a currency for the future.
Mónica Taher, from the Secretary of Commerce of El Salvador, recently said that the government is discussing decentralized finance (DeFi) and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO). The official commented that they are following a three-year-old plan, called the Digital Agenda, to modernize the country.
When they conceived the plan, there were no issues like those arising after the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender. Taher explained that they talked about the need to digitize much of the processes and how the government conducts business. However, she said that they did not address DAO and DeFi, among many other matters.
The Director of Technology and Business Innovation stated that the Digital Agenda includes 17 development goals. She considers that the adoption of the pioneering cryptocurrency is just the tip of the iceberg. Among other plans, the government is working on a digital identity system for Salvadorans, focusing on health and education.
The Government Proposes Educating About Bitcoin for Financial Freedom
They also propose educating citizens to help them understand the relevance of Bitcoin as legal tender. In that way, they will learn to conduct transactions more effectively and use the cryptocurrency to create wealth.
Taher said that 70% of the population without financial freedom should have Bitcoin within two years. It is not only a matter of buying coffee but also of learning to invest and sustain themselves.
Taher Has Been a Bitcoiner Since 2014
Monica Taher expressed that she was happy when she first heard about the adoption of Bitcoin within the government. She said she had been in technology for 20 years, and she started with Bitcoin in 2014.
The official positively assesses the success that adopting Bitcoin as legal currency in El Salvador represented. However, she confessed they were not ready for the many companies that arrived in El Salvador. To describe the impact of that decision, she recalled that many companies ran to them when president Nayib Bukele announced the Bitcoin Law.
However, she believes that people are aware of the potential of Bitcoin beyond the protection that a legal environment provides.
Bitcoin Is a Currency for the Future
Mónica Taher stated that adopting Bitcoin as legal tender in the Salvadoran economy sought to incorporate financial technology. She noted that some people said that they should not accept the cryptocurrency and return to the colón.
The specialist explained that they had that monetary unit until 2001 before adopting the US dollar. However, she said she knows that the future is not to return to a currency that died in 2001.
The government has the conviction that the colón does not represent the future of the Central American country. Taher stressed that adopting a legal tender will take citizens into the next century. In that respect, they think that education is the best way to help people understand that concept.
By Alexander Salazar
