A study published by Jose Simeon Canas Central American University, in El Salvador, found that 77.1% of respondents want the government to stop spending public money on Bitcoin. The survey had local Salvadoran residents sharing their opinion on El Salvador’s Legislative Decree No. 57 which implements Bitcoin as legal tender.
24.4% of respondents used Bitcoin as a means of payment since the El Salvador government recognized it as a legal tender in 2021. The survey conducted by the Central American University collected 1,269 valid interviews in September 2022. The majority of the respondents, that is 95%, said their lives stayed the same or have gotten worse since BTC became legal tender.
El Salvador president Nayib Bukele, a crypto enthusiast, has been campaigning hard to attract tourism and foreign investment through Bitcoin. He proposed to build a Bitcoin City where nominal tax rates are set at 0%. The construction would be funded by a $1 billion Bitcoin Volcano Bond. However, plans for the Bitcoin bonds have been stalled due to the ongoing crypto winter.
Edgardo Acevedo, also known by the pseudonym Ishi Kawa, said Bitcoin adoption remains low in El Salvador. The 37-year-old Salvadoran personally found that very few businesses accept Bitcoin and even fewer Salvadorans wish to pay in the digital token. Acevedo said the issue of violence and crime has improved, but economically nothing has changed. Bitcoin has lost about 60% of its value since El Salvador adopted it as a legal tender. Moreover, the Central American country’s GDP is set to hit nearly 87%. Data suggests that El Salvador ranks top in emerging market countries that are vulnerable to debt default. Furthermore, the country’s domestic and multilateral loan obligations pose a real threat.
