Lord Fusitu – a Tongan barrister, landowner, and MP – is a fervent supporter of making Bitcoin a true currency inside the nation’s borders. He plans to introduce a bill to make Bitcoin legal tender alongside Tonga’s national currency, the pa’anga.
Why Make Bitcoin Legal Tender in Tonga?
Tonga is a small island nation and archipelago east of Australia. As reported by Financial Review, Fusitu’s first step towards Bitcoin adoption is to work with Jack Maller’s “Strike” digital wallet. It will help Tongan’s receive full remittance payments from their overseas workers, which Fusitu says is a crucial issue.
“Tonga is the most remittance dependent country in the world. Between 38% and 41.1% of our GDP, depending on which World Bank figures you use, is remittances.”
According to the MP, Western Union “takes a 30% bite” on remittances sent back to the country, as it is. This is similar to the plight of El Salvador, where he says Western Union fees are “closer to 50%.” Likewise, El Salvador was the first country to make Bitcoin legal tender last month.
Through Strike, the nation’s citizens can use Bitcoin’s lightning network to send each other remittance payments at virtually no cost. Therefore, the widespread use of the app could be an incredible boon for Tonga’s economic growth. Furthermore, Strike may not need to receive approval from parliament or Tonga’s central bank, being a complete commercial solution.
Jack Mallers, founder of Zap Solutions, is a fierce critic of Western Union, viewing his wallet as a superior alternative, which is now used by Twitter to enable Bitcoin tricks through the social media platform.
Besides remittances, Fusitu also believes that Tonga can benefit from Bitcoin’s core properties as money.
“Bitcoin is the first truly global and natively open monetary system. Blockchain is the most optimal storage medium for money if your goal is decentralization and complete, egalitarian democratization of money.”
Will Tonga be the next to launch a legal tender for Bitcoin?
Regarding his legal tender bill, Fusitu will not be able to present it until the next opening of the Tonga state parliament in 2022. However, the MP remains confident that he can overcome political resistance to his proposal.
Indeed, he may have a long way to go before seeing this bill pass. Sione Ngongo Kioa, governor of the Reserve Bank of Tonga, is not exactly open to it.
“The adoption of Bitcoin as an official alternative currency is certainly unlikely,” he said recently.
