El Salvador’s Bitcoin strategy is generally “net positive.”
El Salvador’s pro-crypto president, Nayib Bukele, claims that while Bitcoin has contributed significantly to the country’s economic growth, adoption has not kept pace with expectations.
Bukele, latest to feature on TIME magazine cover, noted that the country’s Bitcoin strategy is generally “net positive.” However, Bitcoin adoption rate has fallen short.
He claimed that the daily payments made by many Salvadorans have been greatly impacted by the digital asset. The country has never forced anyone to adopt it, rather, offered it as an option, the president noted.
He continued, “It has not had the adoption we expected.” “I expected more adoption, definitely, but we always prided ourselves on being a free country, free in every way.”
Additionally, Bukele urged users to utilize Bitcoin right away because they “will probably have gains in the future.”
He also emphasized that a small delay in adoption “has not resulted in anything negative,” considering the positive effects of Bitcoin on the country, from branding to tourism.
“I feel that it could have worked better, and there is still time to make some improvements, but it hasn’t resulted in anything negative. On the contrary, it gave us branding, it brought us investments, it brought us tourism.”
Bukele believes Bitcoin has a “lot of future.” The nation was among the first to adopt Bitcoin, having done so as early as 2021. The country became the first to accept Bitcoin as legal tender in September 2021.
Besides, the nation’s Bitcoin reserves now stands at 5.858K BTC, valued at $345.61 million per Arkham data. Additionally, it has also been actively purchasing 1 BTC per day until Bitcoin “becomes unaffordable with fiat currencies.” As a result, El Salvador became one of the world’s richest countries due to its large Bitcoin stash.
“Right now, you have the largest funds in the world, literally the largest funds in the world,” Bukele told TIME.
TIME's new cover: How Nayib Bukele's "iron fist" has transformed El Salvador https://t.co/2j4mHrQBj0 pic.twitter.com/FxIrCmAGy7
— TIME (@TIME) August 29, 2024
Bitcoin’s Attention vs Adoption in El Salvador
Despite some criticism, Bukule observes that the digital asset has received a lot of positive attention across the country. Additionally, he pointed out that El Salvador “gives us a small advantage, as far as it goes” because it was the “first mover” in the area of Bitcoin adoption.
“I feel that it could have been much better. I wouldn’t consider it a resounding success.”
The president is still of the opinion that the advantages have outweighed the disadvantages.