El Salvador Bitcoin City

Are Salvadorans Tired of the Country’s Bitcoin Pursuit?

  • El Salvador recognized Bitcoin as a legal tender in 2021, but this move has made little progress.
  • Some respondents believe the introduction of Bitcoin has not improved their economic conditions.
  • El Salvador’s plans to build a Bitcoin city seem to have suffered an economic and regional setback.

El Salvador prides itself on being the new home of Bitcoin. The country justified this claim last year when it became the first nation to recognize bitcoin as legal tender. The Central American nation furthered its love for crypto by announcing plans to build the first Bitcoin city in the world. While the rest of the world has criticized El Salvador’s ambition, it’s difficult to ascertain how the locals feel about using public funds to purchase Bitcoin.

José Simeón Cañas Central American University in El Salvador, recently published a study revealing how some locals felt about their country’s investment in Bitcoin. About 77.1% of the respondents want the government to discontinue using public money to purchase Bitcoin. Only 24.4% of the respondents said they had used Bitcoin for payment since it was declared an official payment option.

The Central American University, a privately owned, nonprofit organization, polled local Salvadorans about their views on Legislative Decree No. 57, which publicly acknowledged Bitcoin as legal currency in El Salvador on September 7, 2021. About 1,269 valid interviews were collected in September 2022, and respondents didn’t seem to have a fair opinion of bitcoin use in their homeland.

The report did not establish any clear relationship between Bitcoin and El Salvador’s poor economy. But, some respondents claimed their lives had not improved since the adoption in 2021, while others claimed their living conditions had grown worse.

El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, is well known for using bitcoin to promote foreign investment and tourism. Bukele suggested the development of a “Bitcoin City,” with construction being paid for by a $1 billion Bitcoin “Volcano Bond” and nominal tax rates set at 0%.

The country’s leader and blockchain enthusiast is renowned for publicizing his frequent use of national funds to buy bitcoin. According to the Nayib Bukele Portfolio Tracker, the Salvadoran government has purchased Bitcoin for more than $107 million thus far. Nevertheless, after this year’s terrible market, the investments are only worth $45.7 million today. While such records are not entirely accurate, it is agreeable that El Salvador’s adventure in Bitcoin has not been entirely successful.

A recent article by Reuters revealed that El Salvador is yet to commence construction on its Bitcoin City. Several factors, including economic and geopolitical concerns, seemed to have slowed progress. It is yet to be seen if the Central American country will continue its interest in Bitcoin or turn its focus elsewhere.

Lawrence Woriji Verified

Lawrence has covered some exciting stories in his career as a journalist, he finds blockchain-related stories very intriguing. He believes Web3 will change the world and wants everyone to be a part of it.

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