At the beginning of April, the Honduran region of Honduras Próspera announced that it would make Bitcoin legal tender – effective immediately in certain areas. Honduras Próspera is an autonomous special zone for work and economic development (ZEDE) and the second region ever to have taken this step. El Salvador became the first country in the world to introduce Bitcoin as legal tender in September last year.
“This new form of FDI, coupled with Próspera’s services, can help transform impoverished communities into thriving hubs of innovation and prosperity,” Honduras Próspera enthusiastically proclaimed in the official press release announcing the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender.
The Honduran Central Bank (BCH), meanwhile, said when asked that it “does not oversee or guarantee operations conducted using cryptocurrencies as a means of payment on the national territory.” Instead, studies and analyzes are currently being carried out to determine the implementation possibilities of the “issuance of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) that has the property of being recognized as legal tender in the country.”
Honduras Próspera was founded in 2020 on the Honduran tourist island of Roatán and is largely autonomous. However, President Xiomara Castro, who has been in office since January, has declared war on the region and even declared in her election program that she wants to repeal the law on the special zones, as they violate the country’s sovereignty.
