Pro-Bitcoin Politician Sitiveni Rabuka recently became the new Prime Minister of the Pacific Islands of Fiji. Now, it seems the new PM is actively considering bitcoin adoption as legal tender there.
While Rabuka himself has not been very public about his views on Bitcoin until now, Lord Fusitu’a, a noble MP and former Tongan MP, has reportedly confirmed that the Fijian politician is a bitcoin bull.
“The new PM is definitely pro-Bitcoin,” Lord Fusitu’a assured Cointelegraph.
Lord Fusitu’a also shared the news on Twitter.
“South Pacific’s new pro-#Bitcoin friendly Prime Minister. Fiji’s new Prime Minister @slrabuka,” wrote Lord Fusitu’a, tagging Rabuka.
In the second part of his tweet, Lord Fusitu’a hinted at legal tender legislation. “Let’s 2 for 2 – BTC Legal Tender Bills for the Pacific in 2023,” the tweet read, hinting at Tonga’s own Bitcoin legal tender bill that could reportedly go live as early as Q2 2023. The first Bitcoin dream started in Tonga right after the Bitcoin Law El Salvador comes into effect.
Now, Fiji could be the next to bring BTC under the legal tender definition. Lord Fusitu’a told Cointelegraph that the new Prime Minister of Fiji “asked to meet with me that we have been doing through zooms since last year to walk people through step by step, how to use bitcoin legal tender.”
Both countries can greatly benefit from bitcoin adoption in two specific areas; remittance and mining.
Remittances sent to Fiji will account for 11.3% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021, according to World Bank data. Tonga’s situation is even more dramatic — remittances will account for 45.5% of the country’s GDP by 2021.
When it comes to mining, both countries can take advantage of geology. As a volcanic island, there are many opportunities to experiment and profit from bitcoin mining. In addition, Fiji also has significant hydro capacity.