Bitcoin is becoming more political by the day, particularly after El Salvador began accepting the currency as [legal tender](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/el-salvador-plans-to-make-bitcoin-legal-tender-why-thats-a-big-deal). The country's president, Nayib Bukele, announced and implemented the decision almost unilaterally, dismissing criticism from [his citizens](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/bitcoin-atm-set-on-fire-as-el-salvador-marks-independence-day), the [Bank of England](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/bank-of-england-criticizes-el-salvador-over-bitcoin), the [IMF](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/imf-warns-that-el-salvadors-plan-to-adopt-bitcoin-has-risks), [Vitalik Buterin](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/reckless-buterin-attacks-el-salvador-s-president) and many others. Since the Bitcoin legal tender law was passed in September 2021, Bukele has also announced plans to build [Bitcoin City](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/el-salvador-to-build-world-s-first-bitcoin-city), a city fully based on mining Bitcoin with geothermal energy from volcanoes.
Countries like [Mexico](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/mexico-has-no-plans-to-make-bitcoin-legal-tender), [Russia](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/russia-says-it-wont-make-bitcoin-legal-tender-as-media-says-el-salvador-is-making-dangerous-gamble) and others have been rumored to be candidates also to accept Bitcoin as legal tender, but thus far, El Salvador stands alone.
On the flip side, countries like China have moved to heavily [clamp down](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/bitcoin-price-falls-as-china-declares-all-crypto-transactions-are-illegal) on Bitcoin mining and trading activities. In May 2021, the Chinese government declared that all crypto-related transactions are illegal. This was followed by a heavy crackdown on Bitcoin mining operations, forcing many crypto-related businesses to flee to friendlier regions.
Surprisingly, the anti-crypto stance of the Chinese government has done little to stop the industry. According to data by the [University of Cambridge](https://ccaf.io/cbeci/mining_map), China is now the second-biggest contributor to Bitcoin's global hash rate, only behind the United States.