(Photo: Yonhap)

[Anchor]

El Salvador has adopted Bitcoin as legal tender, becoming the first country to make it an official national currency.

The historic move was approved by Congress despite the International Monetary Fund expressing concerns about the potential impact on its lending to the Central American nation.

The BBC's Electra Naysmith report.

[Reporter]

El Salvador's move could prove tricky.

It's seeking a program with more than a billion dollars from the International Monetary Fund.

Analysts say delays in complications are now likely.

El Salvador's economy is heavily dollarized.

Remittances amounted to a fifth of GDP in 2019, nearly six billion dollars.

The trade and investment minister says the U.S. dollar will remain legal tender and that the Bitcoin exchange rate will be linked.

But it's still a major milestone in monetary policy history and one with significant ramifications for the global financial system.