El Salvador President Calls Out Legacy News Agencies that Criticized his Bitcoin Decision

Nayib Bukele criticizes top media.

The President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele has criticized traditional media outlets that are silent over his country’s ability to settle international debts without default. According to him, the same media predicted difficult times for El Salvador after the South American country declared Bitcoin a legal tender, making a huge investment in the digital asset.

Bukele’s comments came after El Salvador had settled its international debt responsibilities in full, paying the required interest as and when required. In a Twitter thread, he outlined reports from several media houses, providing them as evidence of his claims. He accused them of being biased and not acting responsibly. Out of all the media outlets, only one from Colombia reported the latest development.

In the past year, almost every legacy international news outlet said that because of our “#Bitcoin bet”, El Salvador was going to default on its debt by January 2023 (since we had an 800 million dollar bond maturing today).

Literally, hundreds of articles https://t.co/rEiK7K13U4

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) January 24, 2023

In September 2021 El Salvador declared Bitcoin a legal tender, making it an official currency within its geographical territory. That move caused a division in the global socio-political environment. Proponents of Bitcoin hailed the move as a milestone toward mainstream adoption. However, the traditional monetary policymakers called it a bad decision and predicted that it would backfire.

El Salvador did not just stop at the declaration but made large investments in Bitcoin as well. It also embarked on a major project to build what was described as a “Bitcoin City”.

Shortly afterward the price of Bitcoin fell, dragging the rest of the crypto market along. Then, it looked like the popular doom’s day prediction was reaching for fulfillment. Amidst the turmoil, Bukele remained steadfast and never backed down on his decision. Not even threats from international monetary policymakers could slow him down.

Today’s declaration is a testament to his resilience and belief in the goal that he has pursued. Although his Twitter post focused more on addressing his critics, it is also seen as a testimony of proper resource management, as indicated by one of his responders. It also comes across as another ‘win’ for the Bitcoin community, as one of the first persons to show support for Bukele’s post is Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ) who replied with a ‘thumbs up’ emoji.