The Special Zone of Honduras officially recognizes Bitcoin as a unit of account

Less than two years after adopting bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender, the Prospera special economic zone in Roatan, Honduras has officially recognized bitcoin as a unit of account – meaning it can now be used to measure the market value of goods and services.

In the year On January 5, the Prospera ZED (Employment and Economic Development Zone) expanded its development under the leadership of Acting Manager and Tax Commissioner Jorge Colindres.

In a Jan. 7 post on X (formerly Twitter), Colindres said his goal is to provide greater financial freedom to individuals and businesses operating in the area.

At @ProsperaZEDE we believe in financial freedom and the right to financial independence. People should be free to transact, file accounts and report taxes in the currency of their free choice.

The development means that BTC can be used as a currency unit to measure the market value of various goods and services in the Prospera Zone.

However, Colindres said that he cannot currently implement the “Final BTC Tax Payment Process” citing technological limitations in addition to some external control issues.

For the time being, the tax liability of Bitcoin-electing entities is determined in BTC for internal accounting purposes, but is reported to Prospera ZDE in US dollars or Honduran lempiras.

Once the issues are resolved, entities will report tax liabilities (and pay the appropriate amount) in BTC to Próspera ZEDE, Colindres pointed out.

Those wishing to use BTC as their unit of account must submit a notification to the Prospera Tax Commission within 30 days of the relevant tax period.

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Colindres said the ad should reference an approved cryptocurrency exchange like Coinbase or Kraken.

Prospera ZDE was launched in May 2020 on the northern island of Roatan. The region made BTC legal tender in April 2022 — seven months after Honduras' neighbor El Salvador introduced nationwide legal tender of the cryptocurrency in September 2021.

Colindres recently described Prospera ZDE as “one of the most competitive special regimes.[s]He said that during his three years in Latin America, he earned more than 100 million dollars and created jobs for more than 3,000 citizens across the country.

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