In El Salvador, bitcoin is legal tender along with the dollar

El Salvador is the only country in the world where bitcoin is legal tender along with the national currency, the dollar. The project to introduce cryptocurrency into Salvadoran trade was announced in early June by President Nayib Bukele, and quickly turned into law by Parliament largely controlled by pro-government forces. Economic operators and businesses, according to the approved legislation, are obliged to accept cryptocurrency and all prices for products and services must be expressed in both dollars and bitcoins. However, salaries and pensions, government sources specified, will continue to be paid in dollars, while the citizen, Bukele indicated in an ambiguous statement regarding bitcoin, "can accept it, but not receive it".

The head of state himself, very active in these hours on social media, argued via Twitter that "as with every innovation, the #Bitcoin process in El Salvador has a learning curve. Any path towards the future is like this, and not you will get it all in a day, or in a month ". Bukele also announced that the government already has 400 bitcoins which, at yesterday's official exchange rate against the dollar (51,923.8), entailed an outlay of 20.7 million dollars yesterday. From now on, citizens will have an app called Chivo and, if they decide to download it on their mobile phone, they will receive a bitcoin gift equivalent to 30 dollars. The government has also promised that 200 dedicated ATMs and 50 public information points will be installed in the near future.The head of state enjoys great popularity in the country that he is using to make the population accept the challenge of cryptocurrency, but for the moment the polls are not in his favor. According to one from the Institute of Public Opinion (Iop), 66.7% of the population believes that the Bitcoin law should be repealed and 65.2% is against the government using public funds to finance its introduction.

In these hours San Salvador, capital of the Central American state, was yesterday the scene of a crowded popular protest against the introduction of bitcoin decided by the Bukele government.