September 2021, El Salvador officially became the first country to legalize bitcoin on its territory. At the time, the cryptocurrency started a bull cycle, and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele planned to rely on it to boost the country’s economy.
14 months later, it seems that the enthusiasm that arose in the country after this decision has caused disappointment among the inhabitants. In fact, a recent study by the University of Central America (UCA) shows that the majority of Salvadorans are not sure about this measure.
77% of respondents view bitcoin adoption as a failure
The results of the poll conducted by the UCA are a real disgrace to President Nayib Bukele and his bitcoin driven economic policy. In fact, 75.6% of the respondents said that they have never used cryptocurrencies for 2022, despite the acceptance of bitcoin as a legal tender.
More damning, 77% of stakeholders said this measure was a failure. By making bitcoin legal tender, President Bukele hoped to incentivize Salvadorans living abroad to send more money home through this lower transfer fee method.
However, less than 2% of remittances from expats were made using bitcoin according to data from the country’s Central Bank. This low acceptance corroborates the results of the survey carried out by the UCA among the local population.
Apart from using bitcoin as currency, the interviewees also demystified the BTC reserve established by President Bukele on behalf of the country. 77% of them believe that their president “should not continue spending public money to buy bitcoins”.
As a reminder, on September 6, 2021, the Salvadoran government made its first purchase of bitcoins, buying 200 BTC at an average price of $51,800, or $10.36 million. At the time of writing, the cryptocurrency is trading around $19,600, a loss of more than 60%.
Also Read: Celebrating Bitcoin Adoption in El Salvador: A Year of Ups and Downs
El Salvador is still betting on bitcoin to attract investors
Despite these discouraging statistics, the local government continues to see its Bitcoin policy as an asset to attract investment to the country. The Deputy Ambassador of El Salvador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Héctor Enrique Celarié recalled this during a recent interview with Cointelegraph.
Also Read: El Salvador Tries To Attract Investment To Bitcoin City!
Contrary to the results of the UCA survey, he claimed that the adoption of bitcoin as a currency has changed many lives in the country. He then invited investors to come to El Salvador en masse, declaring that those who would make the most profit would be the first to show up.
He also referred to Bitcoin City, the city dedicated to the promotion of bitcoin that the country plans to build through cryptocurrency-backed bonds.
“El Salvador’s dream is to have a Bitcoin City and make our society bigger and stronger from that. We are trying to attract more and more investment in this area so that we can develop these communities. »
