Bitcoin Legal Tender - Was El-Salvador the Wrong Country?

I was reading an article that claimebitcoingaf7244cd1_640.jpgd to give an update on the reception by El-Salvador citizens over the adoption of Bitcoin as a legal tender. The article itself was already bias in its perception of President Bukele, using words such as Authoritarian and Dictator and as such I had very little expectations that the author was going to portray the move in a positive light.

What did surprise me though was that very little was said about the problem, if any, with Bitcoin as a legal tender. Instead, the author choose to focus on the President, corruption in the Local system as well as the current state of the Salvadorian economy to lay a basis for criticism.

One statement struck me in the article though, and it was allegedly attributed to a citizen who was against the adoption to begin with.

Snow75 continued: "My country is walking towards a dictatorship, government expenses are off the roof, and the President is gambling our money in Bitcoin. Poor, third-world countries aren't ideal for economic experiments. A rich country with spare money could roll a trial, but here, it's taking funds that could be spent on education, infrastructure, or health.”

First of all, I think the statement by the concerned citizen was based on limited knowledge about what Bitcoin is, or what the crypto space is all about in the first place. To say that the country is 'wasting money' buying bitcoin for her Citizens is obviously wrong, as Bitcoin has shown itself to be a superior, more secure albeit expensive transaction medium. It cannot be equated in the same breath with mere consumerism such as spending money on vanity projects for instance.

The second thing I want to highlight from the statement was where it said "Poor, third-world countries aren't ideal for economic experiments". I think this kind of thinking is the perfect example why third World Countries perpetually remain at the mercy of developed nations for aid and decision making.

There is no conventional method a developing World country can gain competitive advantage enough to simply rank among the big boys in terms of development. Why is this you may ask? Well it is because every nation simply protects their interest and the big players have no intention of giving up their wealth or their influence. Furthermore, the current monetary system appears to favor this exclusive club in terms of exchange rates and payments, loans and general economic policy directions.

Conclusion

No doubt El-Salvador is an experiment that might fail, but the adoption of Bitcoin remains its best change to change its fortunes 'overnight' if it can leverage on the technology to build, innovate and adopt its transparency.

I read another report that it is already yielding dividends, as profits from the Bitcoin boom would be used to build 20 schools in the Country. While this is great news, we do hope they can move beyond mere speculation and be leaders in Bitcoin technology, showing the World what we can really do with this technology.

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14 comments
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It doesn't matter which country, most will start making moves similar. The largest will be the last to make the shift, as they have the most to lose by Bitcoin becoming adopted by the rest.

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Fair point. Many economies and their citizens don't feel the need for change because the current system is working for them. Eventually they'll be forced to, maybe after missing out a bit

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Honestly every country is the wrong country.

What is happening here isn't compatible with any country in the world.
A lot will have to change in order for this transition to get smoothed over.
Once a dozen countries legalize crypto as legal tender I think the point becomes moot.

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I had thought more countries will make the move after El-Salvador did. Guess everyone is just trying to see how it all plays out for the 'test subjects' first

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I must admit I am happy they were the first, but honestly we do need a more credible country to do this as well. A hokey pokey country in South America is not exactly setting the world on fire economically and it is a start and only that. I will be happier with the likes of Ukraine or someone in Europe to be next and not just another South American country.

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Eastern Europe has a lot of potential with crypto Adoption. They have strong, respectable economies but need that edge to make them as competitive as their counterparts in the west

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Honestly, imho I think it's less about what country does it first and more about choosing the right coin. I don't think Bitcoin was the right choice - the transaction fees are WAY too high for small purchases and poor people. Hive, or something like, would make way more sense - free and fast, much more appropriate for small, poor people transactions.
I am developed-country poor, and I never bother with Bitcoin anymore because of the fees. What's someone who lives on a few dollars a day going to do with fees that are more than their whole day's income?

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Solid point. I think as the space matures though institutions are going to move into the alts more. For now, it may be because BTC is perceived as having credibility

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Oh for sure, I'm sure that's why they chose it too. I tried explaining crypto to my mom once and she didn't really get it and instead of asking about Hive or crypto or blockchain or anything like that, she'll ask me, "So how's your Bitcoin?" even though I don't have any Bitcoin. It's just the one everyone knows.

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Yikes! Such ignorant take! I bet those who moved with President Nayib when Bitcoin was $37k will beg to differ.

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