Approaching El Salvador Bitcoin adoption day sparks protests

Hundreds of Salvadoran retirees, veterans and workers protested against the government’s decision to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador last Friday, August 27 as the adoption day on September 7 approaches. 

The protestors expressed their worries regarding the complete replacement of USD with Bitcoin (BTC) in regards to the distribution of their pensions as well as the lack of knowledge and understanding of how cryptocurrency works. 

However, the El Salvador president Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez made it clear that they won’t replace the official currency (USD) with BTC. Salvadorans aren’t obligated to switch entirely to using BTC and can continue using the USD as they wish.

‘What if someone doesn’t want to use Bitcoin? Don’t download the Chivo app and continue living your normal life. Nobody is going to take your dollars. Someone can always queue up at Western Union and pay a commission’, said president Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez in his Twitter announcement according to Cointelegraph.

Apart from receiving pensions in BTC instead of USD, the protestors also expressed scepticism over the cryptocurrency’s price volatility.    

‘We know this coin fluctuates drastically. Its value changes from one second to another and we will have no control over it,’ stated Stanley Quinteros, member of the Supreme Court of Justice’s workers’ union according to Yahoo! News.

Moreover, in a separate Tweet posted on August 23, President Bukelele said that the government will create a wallet called Chivo which can support both BTC and USD. It was also stated that the wallet will be available for cash withdrawals 24/7. 

It was just recently when President Bukele’s proposal for Bitcoin adoption was approved by Congress, making them the first country to consider BTC as legal tender. During the Legislative Assembly, the proposal had received 62 out of 84 votes.

Shortly before the Congress voted on the proposal, President Bukele took to Twitter to express his perspective on the adoption, stating: ‘It will bring financial inclusion, investment, tourism, innovation and economic development for our country’.

After the bill was passed during the Legislative Assembly, it was later revealed that it will take effect on Tuesday, September 7. 

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