The autonomous region of Portugal – Madeira – and Prospera – a jurisdiction on Honduras’ Roatán island – will reportedly adopt bitcoin as an official payment method inside their borders. Residents from both territories won’t have to pay capital gains tax when buying or selling the primary cryptocurrency.
In the footsteps of El Salvador
Bitcoin’s global popularity and development received a significant boost last year when El Salvador became the first country to adopt the asset as legal tender. Although some have criticized the initiative, many other countries have begun to consider following the example of the Latin American state.
According to a report by Forbes, the latest such territories are Portugal’s western island – Madeira – and Honduras’ jurisdiction – Prospera (located on Roatán island in the Caribbean sea). Joel Bomgar – the latter’s President – assured that citizens won’t have to pay personal income taxes when trading BTC.
He also said authorities will “allow other municipalities in Honduras or other corporations or political subdivisions outside of the United States to issue bitcoin bonds from the Prospera jurisdiction.” Bomgar believes this could boost the local economy by attracting foreign direct investment.
Miguel Albuquerque – President of the Regional Government of Madeira – also noted that residents won’t need to pay capital gains when trading bitcoin.
“I believe in the future and I believe in bitcoin. Our government will continue to work to create a fantastic environment for bitcoin in Madeira,” he added.
What Happened to El Salvador After Adopting Bitcoin?
Being the only country (as of the moment) to officially recognize bitcoin as a means of payment inside its borders, it is worth observing the impact on El Salvador months later.
On the one hand, the country has boosted its tourism sector, becoming a more popular destination for travelers. Earlier this year, the Minister of Tourism – Morena Valdez – noted:
“We did a poll to check the activity according to the before and after of bitcoin. The tourism sector increased in November and December. This increased by more than 30%.”
President Nayib Bukele’s administration has also built several mainstream cryptocurrency-related entities, such as a bitcoin education center and a massive veterinary hospital fueled by the country’s profits from its BTC purchases.
The latter opened doors in February. Each procedure costs $0.25 worth of BTC, and customers could apply any wallet. It is open 24/7 and has operating rooms, hospitalization, quarantine rooms, rehabilitation, and other medical features.
