Bitcoin rallies 13% jumping above $37,000 after El Salvador passes law to adopt it as legal tender

Bitcoin rallies 13% jumping above $37,000 after El Salvador passes law to adopt it as legal tender

Surged on Wednesday after . The cryptocurrency was trading at $37,176.44 at around 11:42 p.m. ET, up 13% from the previous 24 hours, according to CoinDesk data. On Wednesday, lawmakers in the Central American country passed a law that made bitcoin legal tender. Among other things, it means prices can now be shown in bitcoin and tax contributions can be paid with the digital currency. Bitcoin proponents, who have , welcomed El Salvador's moves. The country has  to build the country's modern financial infrastructure using bitcoin technology. Other cryptocurrencies got a lift as well, and ether and XRP were both trading higher. Bitcoin is still significantly off of its record high of $64,829.14 that was hit in April. Bitcoin is known for  that have prompted critics to suggest it is . El Salvador's case will be closely watched to see how bitcoin might work as a payments mechanism on a country-wide basis.