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The scoop: El Salvador announced that Bitcoin is now legal tender. Citizens can pay taxes with it and stuff.
Why it matters: El Salvador is the first country to recognize a cryptocurrency as a legal form of currency. This marks a major shift toward government's view of decentralized financial systems, and a potential shift away from central banks.
The energy problem: We all know Bitcoin has an energy problem. To combat that, El Salvador plans to use geothermal energy from its volcanoes to produce cheap, clean energy for bitcoin mining. Let's see if they can build sophisticated infrastructure to match pent-up demand.
Bottom line: In the rush to make bets on the future of finance, governments around the world are responding with crypto plans for citizens.
Question: Will this push for legal forms of cryptocurrency help or hurt its climate impact in the long-run?
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