A bill to make Bitcoin a legal tender in Tonga has been proposed by Tongan noble Lord Fusitu'a.
The Lord suggests that the use of cryptocurrency would benefit Tonga by significantly reducing the costs associated with transferring remittance payments.
According to Lord Fusitu'a up to 30 percent of remittances are lost to transfer and currency exchange fees charged by intermediaries. This amounts to over US$70 million.
"30 percent is game changing because that's a third of your wage, that's the difference between your kids going to school with breakfast or without breakfast. So the US$70 million, that 30 percent that used to go to Western Union, is now in our people's pockets, Fusitu'a said.
His proposed bill will go to Tonga's parliament to be tabled for discussion in September or October this year.