Honduran special economic zone adopts bitcoin as legal tender

By Gustavo Palencia

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) – A particular financial zone on a tourist-centric island on Honduras’ Caribbean coast has adopted bitcoin and different cryptocurrencies as authorized tender, officers of the zone mentioned on Thursday.

Known as “Honduras Prospera,” the particular zone was established in 2020 to assist encourage funding, and has administrative, fiscal and budgetary autonomy.

“Prospera’s versatile regulatory framework allows crypto-innovation and using Bitcoin by residents, companies, and governments,” Honduras Prospera mentioned in a press release.

The financial zone may even let municipalities, native governments and worldwide companies challenge bitcoin bonds from the world’s jurisdiction.

Honduras Prospera covers elements of the picturesque Roatan island in addition to town of La Ceiba on Honduras’ Atlantic Coast.

Neighboring nation El Salvador adopted bitcoin as authorized tender in September, the primary nation on the earth to take action, though the roll-out was bumpy and mired in public skepticism.

In Honduras, the Central Financial institution has mentioned it can’t vouch for cryptocurrency transactions.

“Any transaction carried out with this sort of digital asset falls underneath the accountability and threat of the particular person carrying it out,” the financial institution mentioned in a March assertion despatched in response to queries on Thursday.

(Reporting by Gustavo Palencia in Tegucigalpa; Writing by Valentine Hilaire; Enhancing by Matthew Lewis)