Though the steep plunge in Bitcoin prices has seen the El Salvador government lose millions of cash, ordinary citizens haven’t endured massive effects. That’s because Salvadorians hardly share President Bukele’s crypto enthusiasm since the Central American nation legalized digital assets. That’s according to what Ricardo Castaneda, an economist, told EFE.
He communicated through a phone interview with CAIFS (Central American Institute of Fiscal Studies) offices, stating that the nation might have escaped a massive economic catastrophe amid skepticism by most citizens.
Nevertheless, the economist added El Salvador’s crypto losses, estimated at nearly $70 million, equals the yearly budget of the country’s largest public hospital. Castaneda stated that Salvadorians were intelligent to avoid Bitcoin adoption, regardless of the government and the President’s insistence.
Thus, the enormous plunge and volatility of the crypto space didn’t translate to massive economic impacts on families. Reports suggest Bukele’s administration spent over $100M to buy 2.381 BTCs since September last year when the President authorized the leading crypto as a legal tender.
Meanwhile, a government spokesperson could not respond when EFE asked how many BTC the country has purchased and the price.
Salvadorians Not Interested in Crypto
The latest Central American University research discovered that only 24% of Salvadorians utilized BTC for transactions in 2022. Moreover, 65% of respondents disagreed with the President’s move to use public money to fund his BTC purchases.
Castaneda stated that though El Salvador pioneered crypto adoption by country, it could be the nation where most individuals aren’t interested in using the new asset class. Nevertheless, the citizenry remains a loser as Bitcoin implementation involves public resource utilization.
The bills that the President’s right-wing supporters pushed during June 2021 Salvadorian congress authorize the utilization of over $200M in public cash to fund the crypto initiative. Also, Bukele revealed plans to create a BTC City, and the government issued $1B in crypto-backed sovereign bonds.
Castaneda listed firms that sold BTC ATMs to the Salvadorian government, individuals that have used the nation to launder assets through digital tokens, and Chivo wallet developers as Bukele’s crypto program winners.
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