McDonald's Began Accepting Bitcoin Payments in El Salvador

Fast food giant McDonald's began accepting Bitcoin payments in El Salvador on Tuesday, while El Salvador became the first country to legally adopt Bitcoin.

While the new law enacted in El Salvador stipulates that businesses must accept payments in Bitcoin, many were skeptical that large businesses would be able to integrate Bitcoin payment methods when the law went into effect. To the surprise of many Bitcoin users, McDonald's in El Salvador can already accept Bitcoin payments. The company has managed to integrate OpenNode lightning payments into its services, meaning anyone can buy a burger at a McDonald's in El Salvador by scanning the QR code on their phone.

OpenNode Head of Growth, Julie Landrum, made a statement:

“We are incredibly excited to be working with McDonald's to help make the country's adoption of the Bitcoin Law an operational success. Daily high-volume, low-value purchases at the world's most popular and successful fast food chain are a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate the power of the Lightning Network. Definitely another key milestone on the path to growing the Bitcoin economy.” OpenNode's partnership with McDonald's provided a timely payment method. However, local Chivo app downloads in El Salvador are temporarily unavailable due to increased demand. Every El Salvadoran in the country will soon be able to use the $30 Bitcoin given to them through Chivo. It is not yet confirmed whether other major American companies such as Nike and Walmart in El Salvador have also enabled Bitcoin payments. Many Bitcoin users still wonder whether or to what extent Bitcoin payment methods will be used by giant companies outside of El Salvador. While these companies neglect to offer services that accept Bitcoin payments in the US and other countries, it seems unlikely that they will continue to offer these options only in El Salvador.