President Rafael Correa of Ecuador will have a new bill to sign in to law this week that bans Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and electronic money as the country works to create a new Central Bank backed cryptocurrency backed by the Banco Central del Ecuador.
With 91 votes in favor and 21 against the vote was swift and now that the bill has been approved the National Assembly will send it onward to the President who is fully expected to sign the bill without delay.
Just days ago the ‘Bitcoin Comunidad Ecuador‘ sent a letter stating that it did not support the ban but if the government was going to create a cryptocurrency that it must strive to be open with it and transparent.
This is the first time a nation has outright banned Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies making it illegal to perform business in them, exchange them or run businesses built upon them.
At the time of this news the current Winkdex price was $602.96 (-2.39%).