El Salvador retirees protest against Bitcoin as legal tender

[Sithara007]

Yeah I wouldn't put much stock into "the currency crashed" either.
Many of the articles I'm reading have the government going into forced adoption---and that is the big fail.

P.S. no one wants their currency to fluctuate that much in a day, it's a valid concern.

Actually the government has found a middle ground here. The customers have an option - they can pay with US Dollars everywhere. But for the shopkeepers, that is not the case. They need to accept payments in Bitcoin. But even then, they can opt for immediate conversion to USD, so the volatility in the exchange rates don't impact them. But for those who were dealing only with physical cash, this can present a problem. Now they need to deal electronically, and need to visit an ATM or bank to withdraw their cash.

[1715069951]

1715069951

[btc78]

most of those retiree knows nothing about the goodness of technology , meaning they can be mislead easily by those people that hates the government meaning they are being fooled by anti government to make necessary action since they (as seniors) are the group that respected by the government and the country so their presence and participation is a big part of any plans of groups.
hope they will be enlighten and understand that this action is for their own welfare , imagine that their retirement benefits will no longer need to be claimed physically because they can  easily received using cryptowallet.

[Vaskiy]

most of those retiree knows nothing about the goodness of technology , meaning they can be mislead easily by those people that hates the government meaning they are being fooled by anti government to make necessary action since they (as seniors) are the group that respected by the government and the country so their presence and participation is a big part of any plans of groups.
hope they will be enlighten and understand that this action is for their own welfare , imagine that their retirement benefits will no longer need to be claimed physically because they can  easily received using cryptowallet.

It looks like small portion of the population is against the move. It is the right for them to get what is necessary, as they're in a democratic country. Maybe they're unaware of the technology, but government should take necessary steps to fulfill the specific group of people. This way government can make the adoption without fail, and without affecting different people with different thoughts.

[Vishnu.Reang]

Bitcoin is volatile, and their retirees are afraid to hold a banknote worth five hundred dollars today and depreciate to five dollars tomorrow. And for some older people, the ability to accept things is relatively weak, and some people think that Bitcoin is a virtual currency with low security.

Yes. Bitcoin is volatile. So what? Volatility of Bitcoin is not the topic here. If they think that Bitcoin is too volatile, then they don't need to use it. No one is forcing them to use Bitcoin or convert their savings to cryptocurrency. Personally I don't really care if a few old farts refuse to use Bitcoin. But here the problem is that these old farts will not allow others to use Bitcoin as well. Their demands make no sense. If someone actually wants to invest in BTC, what gives these pensioners the right to oppose that? I am all for FoE. But here it is more like bullying.

[pinggoki]

From the looks of it the reason why the retirees are going apeshit about the whole bitcoin adoption process and El Salvador Government authorizing bitcoin as a legal tender is the fact that it hasn't been made clear if bitcoin will be an auxiliary payment option that people could use in order to purchase goods and services, or if the use of bitcoin is made compulsory, meaning even the old-timers like them had no choice but to learn a pretty advanced payment method just so they can facilitate their purchases.

I am in favor of doing it as an auxiliary payment option for now, soon enough people themselves will slowly transition into bitcoin when more people are informed of how things work within and beyond the blockchain. Otherwise let the old people have it, we can't blame them for not being tech savvy.

Bitcoin is volatile, and their retirees are afraid to hold a banknote worth five hundred dollars today and depreciate to five dollars tomorrow. And for some older people, the ability to accept things is relatively weak, and some people think that Bitcoin is a virtual currency with low security.

Yes. Bitcoin is volatile. So what? Volatility of Bitcoin is not the topic here. If they think that Bitcoin is too volatile, then they don't need to use it. No one is forcing them to use Bitcoin or convert their savings to cryptocurrency. Personally I don't really care if a few old farts refuse to use Bitcoin. But here the problem is that these old farts will not allow others to use Bitcoin as well. Their demands make no sense. If someone actually wants to invest in BTC, what gives these pensioners the right to oppose that? I am all for FoE. But here it is more like bullying.

Then again I believe the reason why they are protesting against the use of bitcoin in El Salvador is because it hasn't been made clear by their government if bitcoin were to completely replace fiat within their territory which would mean serious issues for these people who we can't expect to learn a new payment method within a day or even a week. If things have been made clear for these guys I'm sure there wouldn't be discussions about this.

[STT]

Just sounds like people unfamiliar resisting the hassle of learning and I dont blame them but how are they are worse off if they are equally able to continue as they were before.  Nobody will force the pensioners to accept Bitcoin surely.   The biggest deal about BTC being legal tender is that it no longer makes much sense to be blocking it in some tax capture for its appreciation as commodities have been used as basis for currency previously and similarly appreciated.  The fact that a country is using BTC for common exchange should give it far better standing against targeting for tax in any country really and I can see why the IMF objected as the current meta is to only allow populations to exchange tokens which are losing value constantly and have no value outside of politics.

[Sithara007]

Then again I believe the reason why they are protesting against the use of bitcoin in El Salvador is because it hasn't been made clear by their government if bitcoin were to completely replace fiat within their territory which would mean serious issues for these people who we can't expect to learn a new payment method within a day or even a week. If things have been made clear for these guys I'm sure there wouldn't be discussions about this.

Well.. this has been posted multiple times. There is absolutely no compulsion from the part of the government. For ordinary people, no one is asking them to use Bitcoin, or to convert their savings to cryptocurrency. It is just that they can do it they want to. And given this, I don't think that the protests are justifiable. The opposition just want to oppose the measure, because it was introduced by the president. They are not opposing it out of merit. Anyway, the picture will become clear only after a few months. At this point, it is too early.

[qwertyup23]

Also I don't think El-Salvador has made bitcoin mandatory. I don't think they have forced their employees to get salary in bitcoin. So if that is not the case, then I don't see any legit reason to hold such protests. That's why the connection with the opposition party seems more obvious.

I do think that by making BTC legal tender in El Salvador, it provides an alternative payment for the payment of services, products, or debts which are recognized by the government. Though this may spark controversy among the opposition due to the anonymity factor caused in the transaction of BTC, you should really weigh the pros and cons of it.

Another thing, I also do think that this is the case where people are opposed to change as almost all are so accustomed to the 'normal' way of transacting. While the government did categorize it as legal tender, they are no way coercing or compelling the public to transact using BTC. So primarily, it is still under the discretion of these people if they would like to make use of BTC or not.

[Rruchi man]

As much as we may suspect that these protest in El Salvador because of the bitcoin adoption are politically motivated, it is also fair to view from another perspective and say that the protests are also a result of low orientation about the advantages of bitcoin and why their government suddenly decided to give it a go, to the masses.

 If there is or was a proper circulation of information and sensitisation from the government to all age grades in the country, many will see no reason to protest, because they will understand the benefits this adoption has for the country, if they truly love their country.

[bryant.coleman]

As much as we may suspect that these protest in El Salvador because of the bitcoin adoption are politically motivated, it is also fair to view from another perspective and say that the protests are also a result of low orientation about the advantages of bitcoin and why their government suddenly decided to give it a go, to the masses.

 If there is or was a proper circulation of information and sensitisation from the government to all age grades in the country, many will see no reason to protest, because they will understand the benefits this adoption has for the country, if they truly love their country.

They had the option to protest peacefully. If they don't like the president, or think that he is too authoritarian, then what prevents these people from voting him out. But in order to do that they need to wait until the next presidential elections. Burning down ATMs and other private/public property is not going to do the trick. And I am not surprised at the opposition. The communists once destroyed computers, claiming that they would take away jobs. That was three decades ago. Now the children of these same communist leaders are working in IT firms.

[cheezcarls]

In my own opinion, I think these retirees are uneducated or misinformed on how Bitcoin works. They just need to be educated that’s all. I even saw on my news feed about some protestors are burning and destroying a Bitcoin ATM. Plus, the president claimed that adopting Bitcoin isn’t mandatory. It’s just their own option if they do so, but making Bitcoin a legal tender is a huge step in the right direction to massively adopt this legendary crypto.

[passwordnow]

In my own opinion, I think these retirees are uneducated or misinformed on how Bitcoin works.

Maybe but I wouldn't be thinking that they're like that. We can understand if they are misunderstood or still don't know what bitcoin is and it is understandable if they're asking. But coming with some brutal actions, they shouldn't act like that.

They just need to be educated that’s all. I even saw on my news feed about some protestors are burning and destroying a Bitcoin ATM. Plus, the president claimed that adopting Bitcoin isn’t mandatory. It’s just their own option if they do so, but making Bitcoin a legal tender is a huge step in the right direction to massively adopt this legendary crypto.

Yeah, they must be educated and if they're the one startling riots, burning of things, that's going far and it's no longer bearable and tolerable if such actions has been made if they're just protesting and don't understand what bitcoin is.

[dupee419]

In my own opinion, I think these retirees are uneducated or misinformed on how Bitcoin works.

Maybe but I wouldn't be thinking that they're like that. We can understand if they are misunderstood or still don't know what bitcoin is and it is understandable if they're asking. But coming with some brutal actions, they shouldn't act like that.

They just need to be educated that’s all. I even saw on my news feed about some protestors are burning and destroying a Bitcoin ATM. Plus, the president claimed that adopting Bitcoin isn’t mandatory. It’s just their own option if they do so, but making Bitcoin a legal tender is a huge step in the right direction to massively adopt this legendary crypto.

Yeah, they must be educated and if they're the one startling riots, burning of things, that's going far and it's no longer bearable and tolerable if such actions has been made if they're just protesting and don't understand what bitcoin is.

It's either they are uneducated and that they lack the information to understand how Bitcoin works or they are just literally closed-minded to the fact that Bitcoin will be El Salvador's legal tender, if these protesters are closed-minded, no matter how much knowledge is thrown at them, they won't give any attention about it, which is something we really can't do anymore.

[izsara]

It's either they are uneducated and that they lack the information to understand how Bitcoin works or they are just literally closed-minded to the fact that Bitcoin will be El Salvador's legal tender, if these protesters are closed-minded, no matter how much knowledge is thrown at them, they won't give any attention about it, which is something we really can't do anymore.

there will always be a reaction for every condition that occurs and it is not far from the pros and cons.
and maybe when they say that the second reason is the right reason in my opinion, because of the lack of information and they don't want to find out related information about bitcoin that makes this happen.
other than that, I think there are other interests that can indeed cloud the atmosphere, for example, there are parties who seek profit by moving the community to oppose the circulation of bitcoin there.
this can happen because until now bitcoin is still a lot of people who hate it and when there is a movement (such as the elavador protesters) they can take advantage of these conditions to their advantage.

[Rasa nanas]

Bitcoin is accepted, every business must accept it as a form of payment in El Salvador. But as far as I know that in El Salvador there are some people protesting using BTC as payment and this is increasing day by day. Become so complicated that El Salvador becomes a mess. I think before announcing BTC as a payment method, the government of El Salvador should really provide comprehensive education to all sections of society, young and old, and implement curricula based on Blockchain technology, especially the Bitcoin-based economy.

yes it happened because of the lack of public knowledge about blockchain technology and payment methods using bitcoin. if this continues to happen, there will be more and more people protesting the bitcoin payment method and eventually the implementation of bitcoin in the country will fail. and of course this incident can affect bitcoin globally.

[Sithara007]

yes it happened because of the lack of public knowledge about blockchain technology and payment methods using bitcoin. if this continues to happen, there will be more and more people protesting the bitcoin payment method and eventually the implementation of bitcoin in the country will fail. and of course this incident can affect bitcoin globally.

If someone doesn't have enough knowledge on how to use Bitcoin, then there are two options. Either he can learn more about Bitcoin and get more knowledge, or he can just ignore Bitcoin and solely use the US Dollar. Now asking everyone else to stop using the BTC is going too far. And I am sure that Nayib Bukele knows how to deal with these sort of people. My guess is that all these protests are only going to last for a few months. Once the next bull run starts, the protests are going to vanish and the protestors will pick up some other topic.

[DanWalker]

Bitcoin is accepted, every business must accept it as a form of payment in El Salvador. But as far as I know that in El Salvador there are some people protesting using BTC as payment and this is increasing day by day. Become so complicated that El Salvador becomes a mess. I think before announcing BTC as a payment method, the government of El Salvador should really provide comprehensive education to all sections of society, young and old, and implement curricula based on Blockchain technology, especially the Bitcoin-based economy.

[MNbag]

I wouldn't blame the retirees for protesting Bitcoin, they would be worse off for it.

Maybe the fact that the government isn't actually using Bitcoin but a fiat currency that happens to be pegged to Bitcoin, the currency requiring constant electricity in order to be usable (at least coins don't need electricity to be used) and the government already having a history of corruption makes the dream impractical at best and impossible at worst.

[izsara]

Bitcoin is accepted, every business must accept it as a form of payment in El Salvador. But as far as I know that in El Salvador there are some people protesting using BTC as payment and this is increasing day by day. Become so complicated that El Salvador becomes a mess. I think before announcing BTC as a payment method, the government of El Salvador should really provide comprehensive education to all sections of society, young and old, and implement curricula based on Blockchain technology, especially the Bitcoin-based economy.

yes it happened because of the lack of public knowledge about blockchain technology and payment methods using bitcoin. if this continues to happen, there will be more and more people protesting the bitcoin payment method and eventually the implementation of bitcoin in the country will fail. and of course this incident can affect bitcoin globally.

when talking about ignorance, of course, there are two characteristics that can be taken from here, namely the first is that they really want to find out and catch up with the knowledge of those who are already here and the second is that they do not accept and try to use the old system even though it seems to impose their will and do not want to make something new that can advance their lives.
but this is very reasonable, because in everything there will be things that are between pros and cons. and this is the challenge that the government must answer to provide direction to the public against the policies implemented.

[STT]

I wouldn't blame the retirees for protesting Bitcoin, they would be worse off for it.

(at least coins don't need electricity to be used)

Im not sure how the retirees lose from more then 1 form of legal tender, its not like coins were outlawed people can keep using cash like most countries.    Coins do have a cost not just in making of them but also handling costs are ongoing in an economy and banks will charge most businesses for this service.   Paper money literally wears out and breaks quite easily, dollars in use even digitally definitely have a cost and cost inflation to their use where the value is never 100% true to its original introduction to the country.  The greatest cost of using US dollar is not seen close to its production but in the far ends where it circulates globally, thats part of what drives BTC in its usage as its not produced in any one country alone.