In 2021, El Salvador made headlines after it adopted Bitcoin as a legal tender. At the Bitcoin Miami Conference, President Nayib Bukele disclosed his intention to make Bitcoin country’s legal currency. First of its kind, the concept drew a fair amount of criticism. Prominent institutions such as the International Monetary Fund too didn’t seem to approve of this. But the country and his head stayed firm on their stance. Even the recent chilling winter couldn’t shake their belief in the top cryptocurrency. And now El Salvdor’s determination seems to be sowing seeds.
El Salvador’s finance minister recently stated that despite suffering 50% losses on purchases, the country’s adoption of BTC is proving to be a success. On Wednesday, Alejandro Zelaya in a statement to Bloomberg shared that the Bitcoin adoption has boosted the tourism industry. In addition, the cryptocurrency adoption has benefitted the country’s unbanked population. The minister further stated that the “it’s the phenomenon that exists.” It’s becoming more and more mainstream and is very much a part of the future.
The country started buying Bitcoin in September last year. As of the start of this year, it has purchased 2,301 BTC for around $103.9 million. Due to the recent crypto market crash, the country suffered a loss of more than 55% taking its portfolio to around $55.3 million.
El Salvador’s decision to adopt crypto didn’t receive a warm welcome from the traditional financial institutions. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) asked the country to take its decision to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender back.
Further, Zelaya through an example showed how people eventually start accepting new technologies. Zelaya highlighted how people found websites and digital business scary. However, with time people embraced it.
Early this year, El Salvador revealed its intention to bring a $1 billion bitcoin bond. However, due to the uncertainties in the crypto market, the country postponed it. Now, the finance minister has said it will again hold discussion on it as the conditions in the market improves.
The dramatic collapse of Terra in early May had triggered the overall crypto market crash. Every crypto identity suffered its repracartions. Leading cryptoassests such as Bitcoin and Ethereum suffered heavy decline in prices. However, they now seem to be reviving.
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2022/07/30/el-salvadors-bitcoin-adoption-proved-to-be-a-success-countrys-finance-minister/