El Salvador Bitcoin payment option

[Sir Legend]

It is good to hear that El Salvador government doesn't make people be obliged to pay with only Bitcoin. Otherwise, it would create an uneasiness among the people. Because not all people in El Salvador are likely to use Bitcoin in any way now. In this way, maybe those people would also start getting curious about Bitcoin and give it a try without any compelling. The government should act really carefully from now on. Otherwise, they might not reach their target by making Bitcoin legal tender.

It took a long time to socialize the people of El Salvador about bitcoin, especially the level of education is uneven and not everyone wants to use bitcoin due to many factors, but what the government of El Salvador is doing is a positive thing, they give advice and don't put too much pressure on or punish people who don't want to use bitcoin.

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[Vishnu.Reang]

It is good to hear that El Salvador government doesn't make people be obliged to pay with only Bitcoin. Otherwise, it would create an uneasiness among the people. Because not all people in El Salvador are likely to use Bitcoin in any way now. In this way, maybe those people would also start getting curious about Bitcoin and give it a try without any compelling. The government should act really carefully from now on. Otherwise, they might not reach their target by making Bitcoin legal tender.

It is legal tender, so the merchants are supposed to provide an option for Bitcoin payment (although they can immediately convert Bitcoin to USD). Bitcoin and US Dollar are both legal tender in El Salvador, so the user can decide whether to make payments using Bitcoin or USD. The issues is only for the merchants. They need to setup a wallet and they can't refuse if anyone want to pay using BTC. And this is an issue for small-scale vendors, who do their business in physical cash. Many of them have put up "no Bitcoin" signs.

[B-Bit]

There were some videos on the internet that shows you get to pay bitcoin as an option in El Salvador, they're not enforcing it that everyone should buy bitcoin to buy goods.
It's true that merchants and buyers can freely choose what they're up to with what they want to buy. This is really the development that should be welcomed by their people but it's also expected that not everyone is going to welcome this development as there are some protests that happens there because of this.

This choice is also very good. Many people may not understand Bitcoin or the value of Bitcoin. They are unwilling to use Bitcoin for payment and can choose to use the payment method.
Many people who want to protect their privacy will give priority to using Bitcoin for payment.

[EewardDean]

When you have been using your own country’s currency and then replaced it with Bitcoin for payment, as a citizen of El Salvador, you may not be able to use Bitcoin to pay according to the country’s development. However, El Salvador’s policy is still non-mandatory and can respect individual citizens’ Willing, give citizens time to choose and accept. With the passage of time, citizens of El Salvador will gradually use Bitcoin as a method of payment. It is only a matter of time.

[James Watson]

According to my personal opinion, the country will not choose choices that are harmful to its own national interests. Therefore, citizens should trust the country and believe in the arrangements and decisions made by the country.
El Salvador, as the first country to accept it, naturally has to face some difficulties. If it is appreciated, it will also bear the problems it brings. Under the success of El Salvador, countries will follow closely behind.

[fullhdpixel]

When you have been using your own country’s currency and then replaced it with Bitcoin for payment, as a citizen of El Salvador, you may not be able to use Bitcoin to pay according to the country’s development. However, El Salvador’s policy is still non-mandatory and can respect individual citizens’ Willing, give citizens time to choose and accept. With the passage of time, citizens of El Salvador will gradually use Bitcoin as a method of payment. It is only a matter of time.

It's quite crazy where in some countries the government is ensuring fiat is mandatory while crypto or bitcoin payments are allowed but not appreciated. Whereas, in El Salvador, they are making bitcoin transactions mandatory while allowing fiat transactions.

I just love the transition of an economy from fiat to bitcoins, something I would have laughed about if told a few years back.

I know everyone hates Elon and rightly so but he has somehow given a huge boost to the popularity of bitcoins and cryptocurrencies and hopefully more countries can take inspiration from the legendary move by El Salvador.

[Vishnu.Reang]

It's quite crazy where in some countries the government is ensuring fiat is mandatory while crypto or bitcoin payments are allowed but not appreciated. Whereas, in El Salvador, they are making bitcoin transactions mandatory while allowing fiat transactions.

I just love the transition of an economy from fiat to bitcoins, something I would have laughed about if told a few years back.

I know everyone hates Elon and rightly so but he has somehow given a huge boost to the popularity of bitcoins and cryptocurrencies and hopefully more countries can take inspiration from the legendary move by El Salvador.

In case of El Salvador, it is easier to implement, because the national currency (Salvadoran Colon) was withdrawn in 2001. Since then, the US Dollar has served the purpose as the currency of trade and savings. So essentially the competition is between one foreign currency and another. But for the vast majority of the other nations, this is not going to be an easy step because they have their own national currencies. Bitcoin has the potential to weaken these currencies, and this can create issues for the government in balancing it's finances.

[el kaka22]

Obviously, there was always that choice option, nobody is forced on anything. All those protests and all were made on something that was a choice, all those elderly people trying to get rid of bitcoin legal tender didn't do it because they were forced, they did it because they are old, do not understand the technology, didn't understand the law, and there were whales that wanted them to rise up and warn the president so that whales could keep their place.

Long story short, this is nothing to a person who doesn't want to deal with crypto, they could live their entire life in El Salvador without ever owning 1 satoshi, and they still do not understand that. Plus, El Salvador is such a small nation that they haven't put too much money into it just yet neither, they are not like USA that distributed 4+ trillion dollars to citizens alone. So, understand that this was the case as always, never forced, only optional.

[dupee419]

it's a good thing El Salvador is taking it slowly, not everyone can quickly adapt to Bitcoin and just understand it so quickly, also, I guess they made an option/choice to the sellers to receive fiat or BTC as payment since we all know how volatile Bitcoin is, probably those who are knowledgeable would likely to receive the payments as fiat just so they can play it safe and not worry about the price dipping.

[Sithara007]

it's a good thing El Salvador is taking it slowly, not everyone can quickly adapt to Bitcoin and just understand it so quickly, also, I guess they made an option/choice to the sellers to receive fiat or BTC as payment since we all know how volatile Bitcoin is, probably those who are knowledgeable would likely to receive the payments as fiat just so they can play it safe and not worry about the price dipping.

For us, the volatility is not a new thing. We have been dealing with cryptocurrency for many years, and we know that it can be volatile. But that is not the case with ordinary people who just started using BTC. When BTC goes down by 10% or 15% in a single day, these people get in to panic mode. And I don't know how to deal with this issue. Hopefully everything will be settled down in the next 5-6 months and the Salvadorans will realize that BTC is superior to USD in the long run. But they need to accept the short-term fluctuations first.

[dupee419]

For us, the volatility is not a new thing. We have been dealing with cryptocurrency for many years, and we know that it can be volatile. But that is not the case with ordinary people who just started using BTC. When BTC goes down by 10% or 15% in a single day, these people get in to panic mode. And I don't know how to deal with this issue. Hopefully everything will be settled down in the next 5-6 months and the Salvadorans will realize that BTC is superior to USD in the long run. But they need to accept the short-term fluctuations first.

I do hope that the citizens would be educated about Bitcoin right away, so that they won't panic when the price dumps, making Bitcoin as a legal tender is actually a lot of work, knowing that the citizens are not that familiar with it, well, at least some of them, but still, they have to be informed right away on how the price actually works, I'm pretty they've started implementing education about Bitcoin, Blockchain and how volatile this currency is compared to fiat.

[Cling18]

El Salvador is in the phase of continuous development and I admire their country for that. It might be hard for other citizens to adopt the new changes due to their new currency but I'm sure that they only need time to accept it. It's an advantage for them especially during this pandemic because we all need digital transactions these days.

[Kasabus]

it's a good thing El Salvador is taking it slowly, not everyone can quickly adapt to Bitcoin and just understand it so quickly, also, I guess they made an option/choice to the sellers to receive fiat or BTC as payment since we all know how volatile Bitcoin is, probably those who are knowledgeable would likely to receive the payments as fiat just so they can play it safe and not worry about the price dipping.

Well its still an advantage that even if you have bitcoin in your Chivo wallet, at the end of the day the merchant is still free to choose whether to accept bitcoin or fiat as a payment. The buyer can save his bitcoin, as well as the merchant or the receiver of the payment is free from bitcoin's price fluctuation. So at least bitcoin payment option is already clear.

And as far as i know,right now the Chivo wallet is not yet working fully because of some issues but eventually the government will be done in fixing it so it will be already available to be downloaded by all Salvadorans. Things might be tough from the start but eventually, since the government has addressed it already, then it will be smooth sailing after that.

[jakdanyel]

It is nice that the government doesn't make it obligatory to use only Bitcoin when people want to pay for something they buy. This can help people make a healthier decision between their fiat currency and Bitcoin I think. If they forced people to use Bitcoin only, then some people could start getting angry at the government and wouldn't even think of using Bitcoin.

[iv4n]

El Salvador is in the phase of continuous development and I admire their country for that. It might be hard for other citizens to adopt the new changes due to their new currency but I'm sure that they only need time to accept it. It's an advantage for them especially during this pandemic because we all need digital transactions these days.

People complain they have problems accessing the wallet, withdrawing money from ATMs, and data verification... many of them didn't get $30 yet! So I guess you are right, they are in the phase of development, but they should test it before they started with it! I saw in the news somewhere that the wallet update is almost ready and soon it will work fine, that is a good thing, but I think they could do a better job before releasing it!
Well, we can only hope that everything will be fine soon! I believe that many eyes are on El Salvador now, watching what will happen with this!

[bryant.coleman]

People complain they have problems accessing the wallet, withdrawing money from ATMs, and data verification... many of them didn't get $30 yet! So I guess you are right, they are in the phase of development, but they should test it before they started with it! I saw in the news somewhere that the wallet update is almost ready and soon it will work fine, that is a good thing, but I think they could do a better job before releasing it!
Well, we can only hope that everything will be fine soon! I believe that many eyes are on El Salvador now, watching what will happen with this!

Regarding the $30 airdrop, it is still being processed and I don't think that everyone has received it. The user need to complete his KYC and facial recognition, in order to be qualified to receive the airdrop. And regarding the other issues such as accessing the wallet and not being able to use the ATM, I think the problem is with the users themselves. They may not be educated enough to use the wallet app. Just give it some time. It has been only one week since Bitcoin became the legal tender. I am sure that these issues will go away in the future.

[verita1]

Another thing is happening in El Salvador besides the fact that people are not familiar with using the Chivo Wallet, the Chivo ATMs and all the technical problems that have arisen since the official launch of bitcoin in the country.

The problem goes further and is the following is the group opposed to the government of President Bukele that just listening to what they say in disagreement with bitcoin delays and distracts Salvadorans.

Today in El Salvador protester against bitcoin destroyed a point of ATM Chivo.

https://twitter.com/JBustillo1/status/1438227533028331521?s=19

[Sithara007]

Today in El Salvador protester against bitcoin destroyed a point of ATM Chivo.

https://twitter.com/JBustillo1/status/1438227533028331521?s=19

Is anyone still having doubt about the real intention of these protestors? They destroyed the Bitcoin ATM, because they don't want ordinary people to use it. Ever since the implementation on 7th September, things have been going smooth for the Chivo wallet, and with each passing day it is witnessing increased usage and acceptance. The opposition has gone ballistic, because they never expected the rollout to be such a success. Now they are vandalizing the Bitcoin ATMs and harassing the users, in order to scare away people from using BTC.

[Charles-Tim]

Today in El Salvador protester against bitcoin destroyed a point of ATM Chivo.

If opposition party opposed such a move, they will try means citizens will not like the present party in power, we can not say if the crypto ATM destruction is political or not, but this may also be an indication that those that against the El Salvadorian bitcoin law do not know exactly all about it. El Salvador makes bitcoin mandatory in the country but bitcoin use is not mandatory while people can decide to choose to accept bitcoin for payment or it to be processed into dollar immediately without no extra cost. I think this should not result into what is currently happening as dollars can be accepted and be used without even making use of bitcoin at all, but some people may just be ignorant.

[Botnake]

Today in El Salvador protester against bitcoin destroyed a point of ATM Chivo.

If opposition party opposed such a move, they will try means citizens will not like the present party in power, we can not say if the crypto ATM destruction is political or not, but this may also be an indication that those that against the El Salvadorian bitcoin law do not know exactly all about it. El Salvador makes bitcoin mandatory in the country but bitcoin use is not mandatory while people can decide to choose to accept bitcoin for payment or it to be processed into dollar immediately without no extra cost. I think this should not result into what is currently happening as dollars can be accepted and be used without even making use of bitcoin at all, but some people may just be ignorant.

This is the latest update of El Salvador wherein someone protests and end up burning an atm bitcoin machine. I wonder why someone had to do this when in fact USD dollar is not even eliminated as a payment method. Yes, bitcoin is mandatory but once the transaction is made, the receiver is till free to accept payment in dollar.

If only the adoption of bitcoin as a legal tender did not happen in a rush making the preparation too short, then maybe all the citizens might have been fully educated about bitcoin. I guess all these negative things that happen are just a manifestation of lack of education on bitcoin.