Bitcoin Is Now Legal Tender In the Honduran Special Economic Zone

Officials from a special economic zone on a tourist-oriented island off Honduras' Caribbean coast announced on Thursday that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies had been accepted as legal cash.

The special zone, dubbed "Honduras Prospera," was created in 2020 to stimulate investment and enjoys administrative, fiscal, and budgetary autonomy.

In a statement, Honduras Prospera stated, "Prospera's flexible regulatory framework facilitates crypto-innovation and the usage of Bitcoin by citizens, enterprises, and governments."

Municipalities, local governments, and foreign corporations will be able to issue bitcoin bonds under the authority of the economic zone.

Honduras Prospera encompasses sections of the beautiful island of Roatan as well as the city of La Ceiba on Honduras' Atlantic Coast.

El Salvador, a neighboring nation, became the first government in the world to accept bitcoin as legal cash in September, despite a rocky rollout and widespread public mistrust.

The Central Bank of Honduras has said that it cannot guarantee for bitcoin transactions.

"Any transaction involving this form of virtual asset is carried out at the risk and responsibility of the individual carrying it out," the bank said in a March statement in response to questions on Thursday.