Bitcoin News Is Not For Sale

Please don’t skip this message — it only takes a few minutes to read. Sorry to bother you, but time is running out.

Bitcoin is freedom. If you think independent media that is bitcoin-only is important, if you believe information and education about bitcoin matters for adoption, and if you have gained something from our work, we would be grateful if you could chip in $21. 

Join the 2% of our readers who occasionally make a donation. If everyone reading this donated just $21, we would reach our target in a couple of hours. $21 won’t break you, we hope.

To cover the cost for our servers, editors, writers, and thumbnail artists we rely on our readers’ generous support. 

How You can chip in:

  • Send a Sats as a tip to a writer. Each and every one of our writers has an active tipping widget.

  • Join our campaign on geyser.fund. Awesome perks are waiting for you such as the Bukele Blend Coffee.
 

Your support ensures that Bitcoin News stays independent with a laser focus on Bitcoin and only Bitcoin.

Funding Progress

Will Tonga Adopt Bitcoin?

written by

Tonga will Adopt Bitcoin

Support free journalists: > send a tip

Liked the Thumbnail? Send a tip to the artist [email protected]

The Polynesian Kingdom of Tonga has assumed chase position three in the race for bitcoin adoption as legal tender. In response to Arizona Senator Wendy Rogers’ proposed bitcoin bill, Lord Fusitu’a, Tongan royalty and former member of Tongan parliament, has hinted at his intention to implement similar legislation in his country. But are these pro-bitcoin peacock feathers largely for display purposes only? Or are there other fundamental reasons for the adoption of bitcoin on a nation-state level? I’m looking at you, El Salvador. 

Tonga will Adopt Bitcoin Tweet screenshot

Bitcoin is a no-brainer for Tonga, whose residents rely heavily on remittances from overseas workers. Traditional remittance services like Western Union charge exorbitant fees which rob citizens of their hard-earned money. An open, free, instant cash settlement network(Bitcoin on Lightning) is a layup for any country that relies heavily on remittances from its diaspora.

However, it may take some time for Tonga to implement this legislation due to the structure of their parliament(they convene every eight months to debate new bills).

In addition, on January 14th and 15th, Tonga was devastated by two historic volcanic eruptions.

Tonga volcano eruption

The Ha’api volcano is located 40 miles north of the Tongan capital of Nuku’alofa. The eruption on January 15th sent ash 19 miles into the air, blanketing the entire island and sending 50-foot tsunamis to landfall. The 105,000 Tongans residing in Nuku’alofa have been cut off from domestic and international communications due to a damaged 31,000-mile fiber optic cable that runs underneath the ocean. Officials said it could take weeks to repair the line, so what is Tonga doing in the meantime?

While internet communications are severed, Tonga is accepting aid in the form of Bitcoin. Traditional Tongan banks use the internet-reliant SWIFT payment rail to do financial transactions. However, in times of crisis, especially when fiber-optic communications have been severed, Bitcoin can provide a better aid rail. As long as there is electricity, countries without internet can plug into Bitcoin with a simple and cheap Blockstream satellite base station. Blockstream’s geosynchronous satellites broadcast the Bitcoin blockchain from space 24/7, allowing P2P transactions to continue uninterrupted. Good luck beating that, JP Morgan. 

According to Fusitu’a, the Blockstream satellites were the only communications on the island that survived both the eruption(s) and the tsunami. 

While many people in first-world countries fail to see the value of Bitcoin, for the rest of the world, Bitcoin is their literal economic life jacket. The censorship resistance of a decentralized value protocol that can operate independently of other networks like SWIFT is not only useful for dissent against authoritarian regimes; it is also helpful during natural disasters and other crises. 

Bitcoin is a live-round mixed amongst the blanks. When catastrophe hits, and all goes to shit, which technologies can be relied upon? I don’t know about you- but I’m betting on the heavily incentivized Bitcoin-space-satellite-cowboycrowd to keep the world in sync. 

Tick tock, next block.

.

.

.

Help spread this article :)

BitcoinNews.com is NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE

Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BitcoinNews.com

For informational purposes only. Individuals and entities should not construe any information on this site as investment, financial, legal, tax, accounting or other advice. Information provided does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement by BitcoinNews.com to buy or sell bitcoin, cryptocurrencies or other financial instruments. Forecasts are inherently limited and cannot be relied upon. Do your own research and consult a professional advisor. The opinion of authors do not reflect those of BitcoinNews.com 

   Advertisement

Read More Bitcoin News

   Advertisement

Join our Newsletter

   Advertisement

Latest on Bitcoin News

Video of the Week

Join our Newsletter

   Advertisement