Demonstrators have gathered outside El Salvador’s National Assembly to protest President Nayib Bukele’s controversial bill to establish Bitcoin as official legal tender in the Central American nation, Decrypt reports.
Fast facts
- Activists gathered despite a three-month ban on protests in the country, which was ostensibly put in place as a Covid-19 preventative measure. Despite the restrictions, the protesters appear to be aligned with most El Salvadorans’ view of the new law.
- Forkast.News recently reported that less than 20% of respondents approved of the Bitcoin adoption plan, according to a survey of 1,233 people across the nation. Furthermore, nearly 65% of respondents said they would not be open to having their salaries paid in Bitcoin.
- Bitcion’s volatility was a key concern for protesters, with some highlighting the recent market crash, which saw Bitcoin’s price fall from a high of US$64,787 in April to today, where it has hovered around the US$30,000 mark for the past month.
- Others were concerned about the law’s legal impact on the country. activist Idalia Zuñiga said: “It is a law that generates legal insecurity and that could be used to defraud users and also facilitate money and asset laundering.”
- El Salvador became the first county in the world to make Bitcoin legal tender when Bukele rushed the legislation through parliament last month. Although already approved, the bill will take 90 days to become effective, meaning that the law will come into effect in September.