Many El Salvadorians are skeptical about adopting Bitcoin as legal tender

According to a poll released Thursday, more than three-quarters of Salvadorans are skeptical of President Nayib Bukele’s willingness to recognize bitcoin as an alternative legal tender.

Salvadorians are skeptical of Bitcoin

Salvadorans’ views on the government’s bitcoin plan were leaked in a recent poll, according to Reuters on Thursday. The survey was conducted by Disuptiva, a nonprofit organization affiliated with Francisco Gavidia University in El Salvador.

Last month, Bukele’s congressional colleagues passed legislation granting bitcoin official currency status in the small Central American country, a first for bitcoin. Bukele pushed for the adoption of bitcoin as a method to make it easier for Salvadorans living abroad to send money home.

El Salvador has used the US dollar as its official currency for many years.

The survey, conducted between July 1 and July 4, interviewed 1,233 residents. The poll results showed that while 20% of those polled welcomed President Nayib Bukele’s bitcoin plan, around 54% considered the legalization of BTC to be “not entirely correct”. Additionally, 24% of those surveyed viewed the bitcoin plan as “only a little okay.”

While it seemed that the majority of those polled were skeptical of bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador, the poll found that more than half of those polled had never heard of BTC.

Following landmark legislation passed in June, many El Salvadorians are skeptical about adopting bitcoin. A qualified majority in Salvadoran Congress voted in favor of Bukele’s initiative to make bitcoin a second legal tender in the country on September 7, 2021.

Related article | How El Salvador embracing Bitcoin means “separation of money and state”

Bukele may need to revise his plan

President Bukele’s BTC plan has received praise from the bitcoin community, but it has also been criticized. El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin has raised concerns from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the former opposing the Central American country’s BTC ambitions.

Even officials from opposition parties questioned the Bitcoin bill, saying it was not in the best interests of the people. A recent poll also found that over 65% of those polled were unwilling to accept BTC as a form of payment.

“It’s a risky bet on digital transformation,” Oscar Picardo, director of the Institute of Science, Technology and Innovation at Disruptiva, said at an event showcasing the results of the survey.

President Bukele, meanwhile, denied accusations that adopting bitcoin would be detrimental to citizens, saying it would instead help the people and move El Salvador forward.

Meanwhile, the government of El Salvador is pursuing its bitcoin goals. In June, the country said adult citizens who downloaded a newly created government wallet called Chivo would receive $ 30 in Bitcoin. In addition, 1,500 bitcoin ATMs are expected to be installed across the country.

Related article | President Nayib Bukele explains El Salvador’s Bitcoin law

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