Topic: El Salvador has become the first country to make #Bitcoin legal tender! 🇸🇻 - page 99. (Read 43229 times)

Ok, you may say that there is somewhat a big difference, but what we need to grasp here is that El Salvador was not the first country to allow for Bitcoin to be used as money, Even though it is not considered legal tender in Germany or in Japan, it actually works pretty much the same as legal tender. For me, this is the same as saying the colour is Red or it is Claret...

Nayib Bukele is still very optimistic about Bitcoin adoption and he is still continuing it to attract foreign investors. Of course an official statement from the government of El Salvador regarding their failure to adopt Bitcoin will not appear.

Indirectly, regarding success or failure as questioned, we must be on the side of the answer to success, because we are people who are active in campaigning for Bitcoin in forums and some of us even socialize Bitcoin in the neighborhood.
With the existence of parties from academics who conduct studies, at least it can be a consideration even though there are pros and cons in a survey on the subject being surveyed.

I doubt that we really need to take any sides.  Of course, many of us participating in this forum are more knowledgable about bitcoin than the average person in the world, and we likely have investments in bitcoin, so in that sense we likely tend to lean pro-bitcoin... but still we should be able to be skeptical of any information source, whether it is supposed data gatherers or the news or the academics or the governments of any country, whether El Salvador or some other government.

Sure, many of us know that some kinds of data is more trustworthy than other kinds of data, and in that sense we sometimes want to see the raw data, or to know about the methodologies, but frequently it can still be difficult to understand the data - because sometimes we might not have the tools to analyse the data even if we get the answers to some of the questions, there are special kinds of data analyzing tools that can rearrange data in all kinds of interesting ways.. including if we might see  if several of the data points might line up for specific surveyed subjects like DdmrDdmr mentioned....

Of course, logically sometimes we might recognize that some assessments don't make sense and we might also appreciate that making comprehensive and good surveys are not easy to accomplish either, but we should not poo-poo all of the data as garbage merely because it might have had flaws in the ways it was taken, the ways the questions were designed or the way that the data was ultimately compiled.. sometimes the survey taker might come up with conclusions that differ from us based on the same data points, and sometimes if they have funding they can learn how to do the future surveys better, too.

We know that governments are not immune from spinning their data - even when they are able to actually conduct valid surveys or to hire companies or buy data from companies who have already done the work.

Many of us likely still have decent hunches regarding which way a lot of this is going to be going in terms of bitcoin adoption ongoingly increasing and knowledge increasing and both value and price increasing, even though in some of these earlier stages it can be painful to see the ups and downs in the process - and even the process in which it seems that information battles are taking place, and perhaps the seemingly wrongful spinning of the data can be frustrating to sort through too.

Wow! I wish my country will do same. Though a beginner but I so much believe in the potentials of Bitcoin because I can see many people adopting it. Even here in my school, students are very familiar Bitcoin.

I still disapproved this survey content to be true and real, for the fact that naming a university for the conduction of the exercise doesn't mean their may not be shady things funny enough beyond we can all believe, just as we all know how El-Savador has been attacked on several occasions regarding it's decision for the adoption of bitcoin as a legal tender, we need to here an official statement from the government in place that bitcoin adoption is no more a thing of success anymore, else what we've been hearing from the government is directly opposite of what the news are saying, which side should we now belong, definitely i will go by what El-Savador says and not the news.

I have downloaded the survey file in pdf format that you shared even though I need google help to be able to read.

The percentage who answered was no bigger than the questions asked about the success or failure of Bitcoin, but Nayib Bukele remains optimistic that the country's economy will be as successful as dreamed.
Good luck to El Salvador.

The said survey was carried out by the University Institute of Public Opinion (UCA – Universidad Centroamericana), during September, based upon 1.269 valid interviews (confidence interval 95%; error: 2,75%).

The interviews were held at the homes of those interviewed, and according to the last chart on the report, seems well balanced in terms of age, geography, gender and educational level distribution.

The questions strictly on bitcoin are:

1-   Bitcoin qualification given by the interviewed:
4,61 / 10.

2-   Citizen’s approval rate for bitcoin:
38,7% approves it; 61,3% does not

3-   Percentage of the population that have used bitcoin to buy or pay for something:
75,6% have not used it; 24,4% have use it.

4-   Should the government keep on spending money on bitcoin?
77,1% no; 14,9% yes; 8% doesn’t know/answer.

5-   Has bitcoin been a success or a failure?
16,5% success; 65,5% failure; 18% doesn’t know/answer.

6-   Has your family’s economic situation improved, worsened or stayed the same with the approval of bitcoin (as legal tender)?
3% Improved; 77,2% stayed the same; 17,8% worsened; 2% doesn’t know/answer.

7-   Citizen rating for Nayib Bukele’s government’s spending public money to purchase bitcoin:
2% Very much in agreeance; 19,6% In agreeance; 13,9% indecisive; 48,8% in disagreeance; 15,8% very in disagreeance.


What would be interesting to see is the correlation between those that have used bitcoin and the answers, since it’s likely that they are positively correlated (my speculation).

In addition, besides asking for the Boolean factor of whether they’ve used bitcoin to buy/pay, it would be interesting to have some insights that separate those made only using the 30$ BTC airdrop for downloading the wallet, the frequency and recency, as well as some simple wallet adoption questions (i.e. Chivo and/or other wallets) – for example.

That was in May 2022 (see the date on the article you link).

We have absolutely no doubts about Bitcoin from the beginning. The inclusion of Bitcoin in the Guinness World Record (GWR) has further strengthened the belief that Bitcoin is the best investment asset.

Regarding El Salvador which is also included in the GWR book, I have interesting news to share, namely the results of a study by José Simeón Cañas Central American University that 77.1% of respondents wanted the government led by Nayib Bukele to stop spending public money on Bitcoin.
That's a line I got from cointelegrhap.
Maybe this has something to do with the economy of the Central American country.

Even the entire El-Savadorans will be surprised on where the fake news about their country in coming on what doesn't actually exist, i believe El-Savador have alot to write about since it adoption of bitcoin as legal tender, and over all the warnings and wrong advise with fake news all about El-Savador, it has always been a better day for the country in it continued decision for choosing bitcoin, maybe i was first assumed that El-Savador will kick against the USD after adoption but things weren't just going as others have thought with El-Savador's bitcoin adoption and till it eventually get to more better state, things will remain unclear about the mystery with El-Savador's adoption.

That doesn't sound like an exaggeration, because what has happened to Bitcoin for over ten years is a proof that Bitcoin is the best of all other cryptocurrencies.
And what has been achieved by El Salvador after adopting Bitcoin is also proof that El Salvador is still able to develop the country's economic sector in a better direction. So nothing sounds superfluous when it comes to adopting Bitcoin, even if you say it's just how you feel.

When El Salvador was urged by the IMF to reconsider the rules that formally legalised Bitcoin and when someone showed data that El Salvador failed to adopt Bitcoin economically, it made me share the same view.

With the news circulating that El Salvador entered the Guinness World Records, it is an honour for me that one day the whole world will realise that Bitcoin is the right choice as an asset to advance the economy. 
It sounds exaggerated, but it's a feeling I have.

Bitcoin have been added into the Guinness World Records. Along with this El Salvador too got into the Guinness World Records for its big step of bitcoin adoption as legal tender before any other country amidst hard opposition from World Bank and other financial bodies.

Bitcoin along with El Salvador In Guinness World Records

Lot of people have got misled by inadequate information on the real situation and the state of things about El-Savador being the first country to make bitcoin a legal tender, here we need to differentiate what Germany or Japan mean by making a statement that bitcoin can be an acceptable unit of account or engaging it use is legal , which mean it is not banned neither does it serve as an offence against the law with the using of bitcoin for transaction and this statement is totally different from adopting bitcoin as a legal tender, of all that has been said, legal tender is the strongest and most recognized means to identify government approval for using bitcoin as a currency.

I actually got scared seing this post at first place which could eventually means that the world entirely and the internet have altogether been misled if truly El-Savador isn't the first country to make bitcoin a legal tender, but thanks to odolvlobo for clarification more better on this and please let try as much as possible to always get the real gist before publication in other to avoid passing wrong information, El-Savador still remains the first country to make bitcoin a legal tender.

Here you go, the same source quoted by Bukele himself previously:
https://www.unwto.org/news/international-tourism-back-to-60-of-pre-pandemic-levels-in-january-july-2022


From central America and the Caribbean, you have 7 territories on that list, 6 outranking Salvador in recovery rates!

You can play with the data here:
https://www.unwto.org/tourism-data/unwto-tourism-recovery-tracker
The Caribbean is at 95% and Central America at 92% overall!

Those articles are not accurate.

Japanese law only makes it legal to use cryptocurrencies for payment. It does not require anyone to accept cryptocurrencies.

Germany declared Bitcoin as a "unit of account" and "private money", but not as "legal tender".

I guess it comes down to your definition of "legal tender". In the U.S., "legal tender" means it must be accepted for payments of debt, taxes, and dues. In El Salvador, not only is Bitcoin "legal tender" by that definition, but it must also be accepted for payments (when possible).

Of course, one comparison is current as compared with pre-pandemic tourist levels, but isn't another comparison of similar situated countries to see if the curves look different in El Salvador as compared with other similarly situated countries?  Your not mentioning that cross country comparison angle, seem to be implying that the cross country comparison has similar kinds of curves as the El Salvador numbers, so in that regard, you seem to be suggesting that El Salvador does not stand out relative to similarly situated countries.


Exactamente!!!

Although, we know that shitcoiners will go down there to try to pump their shit on the coattails of bitcoin.

We also know that bitcoin naysayers will confuse and muddy their assessment of what's going on by talking about "crypto" and who the fuck knows what they mean - especially when they sometimes won't even use the word "bitcoin," so frequently any of us might wonder if we are talking about the same topic or not.


I am not sure about the relevance of your data here KennyR because it seems to largely say the same as DdmrDdmr's data, except that DdmrDdmr's data goes two years further (up to present)... which largely is showing that overall tourism numbers in El Salvador had been on an upward trajectory and then the 2-3 years of the pandemic effect brought them way back down, and so now the overall tourist numbers are at the same place they were around the time that they started to dip.

There might be some truth that overall BTC tourism cannot be measured, even though we are hearing about all the bitcoiners who are supposedly traveling to El Salvador and who would not have otherwise have gone to El Salvador if it had not been for El Salvador's pro-bitcoin laws. 

We know that bitcoiners are going there and we know that they are attending bitcoin conferences and events in El Salvador, too.. but we might not be able to know for sure about how much of a blip (or measurement) there is on the data in terms of how many more tourists are ending up in El Salvador that can be attributed to the Bitcoin law and even the fact that there could be some contagion too.. so that the more people who go, then the more it could become a destination that people go to or consider going to when they would not have previously considered it or even would not have gone there.

Actually, this is not correct information. Way Before El Salvador, the first country legally accepting Bitcoin as a legal Tender was actually Japan back in 2016. You guys can check the story here:
https://www.sygna.io/blog/japan-crypto-regulation-history-2014-2020/

Besides, Germany was the first to recognise Bitcoin as private money and later as legal tender. Check it out here:

https://bigthink.com/technology-innovation/in-germany-bitcoin-is-now-legal-tender/

Came across this data from the internet searching for the details about the number of tourists visited El Salvador in the previous years. During the pandemic the number of tourists into the country have decreased. Now with the adoption of bitcoin and various other measures taken to improve the tourism and attract more tourists might've boosted the visitors number reach 1.8million(no data available, but prepandemic close number of tourists have visited El Salvador).

your point here is contradicting, you're talking about the increase gained through El-Savador's bitcoin  tourism which you applaud Nayib Bukele for these, yet you're saying the haven't make any progress it their adoption, what other progress could come than having good tourist attraction that yield a vast income, the investment is not yet ripe if that's what you meant but i can tell you that tourism alone is a boost on El-Savador's economy through bitcoin adoption.


have you conducted a research that ascertain this as fact, every average El-Savadoran who is an entrepreneur has had the taste of bitcoin before and they are still using it.


have you been there to experience such? should incase you forgot, El-Savador is majorly deals with bitcoin and not other crypto, bitcoin is the only name you can identify El-Savador adoption with of which every tourist already have that in mind that they are coming for bitcoin tourism and not crypto tourism.

I’m not sure where the original 1,8 M visitors comes from. I’ve seem various media articles pointing to Bitcoin Archive (as depicted in the image), but I haven’t managed to see where they base their data on.

The government’s Tourism Corporation (tied to El Salvador’s Government) published some statistics on the matter in relation to the first Semester of 2022, in their transparency portal (see the first downloadable document called "Informe estadístico de turismo primer semestre 2022":
https://www.transparencia.gob.sv/institutions/corsatur/documents/estadisticas


The above image, taken from within the said statistic, depicts the number of visits to the country in 2022 regaining the level reached during the first semester of 2019. In other words, prepandemic figures are more or less back, but one can hardly put a finger down on if and how much bitcoin helped, bearing in mind that the figure on the chart (substantially lower than the 1,8M, though july through to September may be high season) is no big deal in relation to 2019.