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- Katie Silver
- BBC
published photo, EPA
A thousand protesters took to the streets of San Salvador against the official adoption of Bitcoin
The first day of the official adoption by El Salvador of the digital currency “Bitcoin” in the country was the scene of protests of anger, technological failures and a sharp decline in the value of the currency.
On Tuesday, the price of Bitcoin fell to its lowest level in nearly a month, dropping from $ 52,000 to below $ 43,000 at one point.
An opposition politician said the drop cost the country, which is one of the poorest countries in Latin America, an estimated loss of three million dollars.
The introduction of Bitcoin to El Salvador was a far cry from what President Najib Bukele envisioned when he began his daring experiment.
Platforms such as “Apple” and “Huawei” did not offer the option of the government-backed digital wallet, known as “Shifu”, and had to enable offline mode for servers in view of for their inability to track user registrations.
However, as the day went on, Shifu’s digital wallet started to appear on more and more platforms and was accepted by platforms such as Starbucks and McDonald’s.
published photo, EPA
Opponents fear the situation could become destabilized due to the adoption of Bitcoin in one of the poorest countries in Latin America
The government gave citizens $ 30 per bitcoin to encourage its adoption, and says bitcoin could save the country $ 400 million per year in transaction fees on money sent from abroad.
Despite this, using data from the World Bank and the government, the BBC estimates the value at $ 170 million.
Abu Kila wrote on Twitter: “We have to break the patterns of the past. El Salvador has the right to advance to the first world.”
Ed Hernandez runs a family-owned store in San Salvador, selling basic items like rice, beans, and cleaning supplies.
“During the pandemic, it is best not to use cash in its physical form,” he told the BBC, adding that the move protected him from customers paying with counterfeit tickets.
The timing was not right for El Salvador, although Bitcoin weakened on its first day as the official currency, dropping 20% at one point.
published photo, Ed Hernandez
Store owner Ed Hernandez said his store would likely sell $ 1,000 in bitcoin payments every week.
“It was a very bad day for President Bukele, his government and his experience with Bitcoin,” opposition politician Johnny Wright-Soul told the BBC.
He added: “The majority of the population knows very little about cryptocurrencies. What we do know is that it is a very volatile market. Today it is confirmed. “
Wright Saul said Bitcoin was not a suitable national currency, and they quickly adopted it, adding that Parliament “approved the Bitcoin law without any discussion. It only took about five hours.”
“We don’t hate cryptocurrencies or bitcoin, but we don’t think stores should be forced to accept bitcoin for payment,” he added.
“The state supports these payments and takes the risk, but at the end of the day we all pay taxes to the state,” he said.
published photo, Reuters
The President of El Salvador addressed the country last June to discuss the proposed official introduction of Bitcoin
Wright-Saul was not the only opponent of the move, as more than a thousand protesters rallied outside the country’s Supreme Court, setting off fireworks and burning tires.
In addition to the currency’s financial instability, some say the adoption of Bitcoin could fuel illicit transactions.
But Hernandez, the owner of the store, is aware of the risks: “Yes, I see there is a risk, but like everything in life, there is a risk. When you own a store, sometimes you buy a product and not sell it. . “
“When others see a crisis, I see an opportunity,” he added.
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