El Salvador becomes first country to adopt bitcoin as official currency

El Salvador on Tuesday became the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender, a real-world experiment proponents say will lower commission costs for billions of dollars sent from abroad but which critics warned may fuel money laundering.

President Nayib Bukele, who has pushed for adopting the cryptocurrency, says it will help Salvadorans save about US$400 million the government calculates is spent annually on commissions for remittances.