Some choice quotes from actual bitcoiners from this article:
https://cointelegraph.com/explained/what-is-really-behind-el-salvadors-bitcoin-law-experts-answerThe important question is: Will the mandatory transfer to crypto work? It has been said many times already that mass adoption of cryptocurrency is possible, but only through educating people so that they can gain a better understanding of crypto. Will President Bukele educate people on how to use crypto? Additionally, one-third of the population in El Salvador lacks access to the internet, which would make it impossible for them to access Bitcoin and crypto services. How is President Bukele going to solve this problem in order to “provide financial inclusion” as he promised?
Some Altcoiner.
DHFIn terms of impact, I believe it will be mixed and limited in the short term. While Article 7 of the Bitcoin Law requires all businesses to accept Bitcoin payments, people may remain reluctant to accept Bitcoin due to price volatility and low awareness of Bitcoin; in fact, I believe many will choose to immediately exchange Bitcoin for U.S. dollars. Internet access in El Salvador is also limited, and many do not own smartphones, making me believe Bitcoin will not be widely adopted.
Some crypto-investor:
“Bukele is a right-wing populist, but this was not an internal move to appeal to his base, since there has been no official messaging at all. Anyone can use cryptocurrencies in El Salvador. However, giving it the backing of the law, one can use it in any transaction inside the country’s territory — but that currency is already used around the world.
So, where is the big news?
Unless… it’s to launder money freely within El Salvador. Organized crime, of course, loves its Bitcoin — the only problem is cashing out, but that’s easy if BTC is an official currency. Bukele has repeatedly denied links to local drug cartels, despite evidence of his past work with them to assist his political party.
Some marketing guru
“I do personally believe that this is just an extraordinary global marketing operation for Nayib Bukele to appear like a financial savior in front of his nation. This whole thing may lead to:
Narcotraffic money laundering by using El Salvador’s banks as an OTC desk
Crypto tax haven for all the Bitcoin millionaires from all over the world.
Let’s imagine a narcotrafficker with $1 million cash in El Salvador. All they have to do is just convert their stack into crypto via OTC by using online anonymous services and after that open a bank account, transferring legit BTC to a El Salvador’s bank as trading profit. This way, you can clean millions of dollars from all the non-legit businesses all around the world.
Some blockchain CEO
However, I’m not sure it will help the poor people of El Salvador. Bitcoin was already legal, and many were already using Bitcoin for remittances. The mobile coverage is extensive, which means it was already accessible. Exactly how making Bitcoin legal tender changes the underlying economic and social problems of the country is hard to see. It certainly won’t reduce discrimination and despotic tendencies. As to whether crypto businesses will flock to El Salvador and provide a much-needed economic boost, only time will tell… Was that a flying pig?”
Some computer engineer
“It is important to understand the context in which the Bitcoin Law comes about. Since the start of his administration, it has been a goal of the president to undermine democratic institutions in El Salvador to centralize power. Worldwide news outlets have documented, for example, his siege of the parliament with the military in 2020, the unconstitutional ousting of the Supreme Court magistrates and the attorney general by his recent parliamentary majority, hampering the Institute for Access to Public Information, and the notorious lack of transparency.
Therefore a swift, extreme, radical measure of this sort can only happen in countries where there are no democratic checks and balances: A president surprises the nation, making the announcement at an international conference, and the next week, within three hours, the parliament approves it with no debate. In other words, this law is not a measure of vision or modernization. On the contrary, it’s a sign of a severely eroded democracy.
From a purely economic perspective, the law is unnecessary. Bitcoin was already being used by some communities without the need of a law, much less one that has a mandate to use it as legal tender. It is doubtful that this can scale countrywide in a population with low literacy (and even less technological literacy) and a struggling economy with a negative trade balance that would still require U.S. dollars to pay for imports.
It is, therefore, logical to assume that there are other reasons at play. The bad relationship with the United States and the expectation of sanctions seems a plausible explanation, as it may allow the bypassing of international financial controls. Media-savvy Bukele is also keen to build a superstar image of himself, and this law has pushed his persona onto the world stage.”
Some bitcoiner:
“Since the requirements to sign up with Lightning Network in El Salvador with Strike are about the same as the requirements to open a bank account, I don’t see how this is going to do much to help the unbanked.
Another major problem with the law is that it forces people to accept Bitcoin as payment.
In a just world, people would be able to choose for themselves what forms of payment they want to accept.”
