A Poor Country Made Bitcoin a National Currency. The Bet Isn’t Paying Off.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: It brought El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, the adulation of the tech community, but reduced scarce funds and moved the nation closer to default.

President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador at an event in June to mark his third year in office.Credit...Jose Cabezas/Reuters
Bitcoin was meant to transform El Salvador’s economy, catapulting the poor Central American nation into an unlikely harbinger of a financial revolution.

But nearly a year after the country’s president, Nayib Bukele, shocked the financial world by making its most popular digital coin a national currency, his bet appears to be backfiring, highlighting the gap between the utopian promises of cryptocurrency’s proponents and economic realities.

The government’s bitcoin holdings have lost about 60 percent of their presumed value during the recent market plunge. The use of bitcoin among Salvadorans has collapsed and the country is running out of cash after Mr. Bukele failed to raise fresh funds from cryptocurrency investors. » | Anatoly Kurmanaev and Bryan Avelar | Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Bitcoin: Will El Salvador's Big Crypto Gamble Pay Off? – BBC News

Jun 18, 2022 • The falling value of Bitcoin is affecting investors all over the world.

It’s putting increased pressure on the Central American state of El Salvador, which nine months ago made cryptocurrency legal tender. As legal tender it should be accepted in all shops, you can now buy almost anything in Bitcoin, from pizza to real estate.

The government has encouraged people to use Bitcoin by giving $30 to each person who signs up for a government-sponsored Bitcoin wallet – and offering treatment for pets at a cost of just 25 cents for those who pay in Bitcoin.

But aside from some pockets of enthusiasm, people do not seem to be embracing the cryptocurrency as much as their Bitcoin-loving president who is under increasing criticism for investing so much public money in the project.

Adoption of Bitcoin as Legal Tender in El Salvador Is Seen as Unwise by 77% of Residents

THE RIO TIMES: Last June 9, the Legislative Assembly approved the Bitcoin Law, which gives legal tender to this crypto-asset together with the US dollar.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The adoption of bitcoin as a legal tender in El Salvador is seen as a poor or unwise decision by 77.5% of the population, according to a university survey released this Thursday.

The Centro de Estudios Ciudadanos (CEC) survey of the Universidad Francisco Gavidia (UFG) shows that 24 % consider the decision as not correct and 53.5 % as not correct at all. In comparison, 12.9 % say it is correct and 6.5 % very correct.

Last June 9, the Legislative Assembly approved the Bitcoin Law, which gives legal tender to this crypto-asset together with the US dollar.

The initiative, which does not include other cryptocurrencies or the underlying projects, was approved with the votes of 62 of the 84 deputies in the Parliament, with a large majority of the ruling party, without further debate or parliamentary discussion.

The measure, which generated doubts among local banks and the population due to the limited information disclosed by the Government, will come into force next September 9. » | Latin America News | Friday, July 9, 2021

More El Salvador news here »

Marxist Muricio Funes Is New President of El Salvador
Mauricio Funes and wife Vanda Pignato as he declares victory. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: A party of former Marxist guerillas has gained power in El Salvador, bringing an end to 20 years of conservative rule.

Mauricio Funes, leader of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), declared himself President late on Sunday night as early counting gave him 51.2 per cent of the vote with more than 90 percent of ballots counted. Shortly afterwards his rival, the right-wing candidate Rodrigo Avila, conceded defeat

"I'm the president-elect of the Salvadorans," Mr Funes told a news conference as jubilant supporters, dressed in red, poured on to the streets of San Salvador cheering and waving FMLN flags. "This is the happiest night of my life, and I want it to be the night of El Salvador's greatest hope."

The FMLN and the military government fought a bloody 12-year civil war between 1980 and 1992 in which 75,000 people died. The FMLN's victory will place El Salvador firmly on the Latin American left-of-centre axis led by President Chávez of Venezuela.

Although Mr Funes, 49, has promised unity, the rise to power of the FMLN will be watched closely by Washington, already unnerved by the "pink tide" sweeping Central America. >>> Anne Barrowclough | Monday, March 16, 2009

WELT ONLINE: Linkskandidat wird neuer Präsident in El Salvador

Mauricio Funes hat die Präsidentenwahl in El Salvador aller Voraussicht nach gewonnen. Der Kandidat der linken Befreiungsfront FMLN erklärte sich zum Sieger der als historisch bezeichneten Wahl. Funes versprach Frieden für das Land, andere warnen vor Kommunismus und dem Einfluss Kubas.

Der Kandidat der linken Befreiungsfront FMLN, Mauricio Funes hat nach Auszählung von mehr als 90 Prozent der Stimmen die Präsidentenwahl in El Salvador gewonnen. Der 49-Jährige erreichte bei der als historisch bezeichneten Wahl 51 Prozent der Stimmen. Sein Gegner von der Regierungspartei Arena, Rodrigo Ávila (44) brachte es auf 48 Prozent.

Damit muss die rechte Arena-Partei zum ersten Mal seit rund 20 Jahren in die Opposition. Mehr als 4000 nationale und internationale Beobachter waren im Einsatz, darunter mehrere Dutzend aus Europa. Schwerwiegende Zwischenfälle wurden nicht gemeldet.

Funes erklärte sich am Abend zum Wahlsieger, noch ehe die Oberste Wahlbehörde das offizielle Ergebnis mitgeteilte hatte. Er wandte sich an die Nation und versprach, er wolle dem von Bürgerkrieg und sozialen Gegensätzen gespaltenen Land endlich den Frieden bringen. „Ich möchte zum Präsidenten des Friedens und des Wiederaufbaus werden“, rief er den jubelnden Anhängern zu. „El Salvador gehört uns allen.“ >>> dpa/lk | Montag, 16. März 2009

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