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VIDEO. El Salvador becomes the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender

2021-09-08T14:14:42.350Z


El Salvador is since Tuesday the first country in the world to make bitcoin legal tender, alongside the US dollar, an initiative crit


El Salvador has been the first country in the world since Tuesday to make bitcoin legal tender alongside the US dollar, an initiative criticized by international financial organizations that began with a computer system crash and a sharp drop in the value of the currency. cryptocurrency, before a slight rebound. The government bought its first 400 coins, with a market value of $ 21 million. He also launched the “Chivo” (“Super” in colloquial language) e-wallet needed for day-to-day bitcoin transactions with his mobile phone and offered $ 30 welcome when downloaded.

For the head of state and his government, bitcoin will allow Salvadorans to save $ 400 million in bank charges when sending money by the diaspora, especially in the United States, which represents 22% of GDP. from the country.

But according to recent polls, more than two-thirds of 6.5 million Salvadorans say they want to continue to use exclusively the US dollar, El Salvador's legal tender for 20 years.

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“We don't want it,” says Rosa Martha Perez, a 68-year-old peasant woman. Having come to demonstrate with hundreds of people in the center of the capital, she does not see how she will sell her fruits in the bitcoin market. Protesters, under close surveillance by riot police, burned tires on the route to Parliament.

“I don't trust it, for three reasons. One, because it's a volatile currency. Two, (bitcoin) lends itself to money laundering. Three, one can become a narco-state ”, enumerates Luis Mejillon, 28 years old. On this first day of bitcoin's legalization in El Salvador, the sharp drop in its value did not encourage confidence: bitcoin suffered its biggest losses on Tuesday since its plunge in May, wiping out $ 5,000 in a few minutes . Around 4:15 p.m. GMT the cryptocurrency fell 9% to $ 47,225, wiping out much of its gains in recent weeks, before rebounding slightly.

Economists, but also the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) have expressed their skepticism. This measure will "have a negative impact" on the living conditions of Salvadorans due to "the high volatility of the exchange rate" of bitcoin, and will have an impact "on the prices of goods and services", according to his colleague from the University of Salvador Oscar Cabrera. The Salvadoran parliament passed the law in June stipulating that the value of bitcoin "shall be established freely by the market" and requiring all businesses to "accept bitcoin as a means of payment".

Source: leparis

All life articles on 2021-09-08

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