Educational information, not legal or tax advice.
legal tender usually means creditors must accept the money to settle debts.
El Salvador
- The Bitcoin Law (Decree 57, June 2021) made bitcoin legal tender with mandatory acceptance, alongside the US dollar.
- After a deal with the IMF, the law was reformed on 29 Jan 2025 (Decree 199, published 30 Jan 2025). Acceptance is now voluntary for private persons and businesses, taxes are paid in US dollars, and the state pays its debts in the currency they were contracted in.
- The IMF staff report (Feb 2025) describes this as removing "the essential features of legal tender".
Central African Republic
Law 22.004 (April 2022) made crypto legal tender with mandatory acceptance. After objections from the regional central bank, an amended law (23.005, 2023) made acceptance voluntary and removed guaranteed convertibility.
What it shows
Bitcoin never needed a law forcing people to accept it. It spread worldwide through voluntary use. Forced acceptance created conflict with lenders and regional rules; voluntary use avoids that. The lesson is not "bitcoin failed", but that bitcoin works as a choice, not a mandate.