Topic: El Salvador rolls out 200 Bitcoin ATMs in a bid to speed-up nationwide adoption (Read 757 times)

Of all the countries to make the move adopting Bitcoin, El Salvador makes among the most sense, as they had already been reliant on the U.S. dollar as their currency for a while. I guess it makes more sense to base your economy on a stable currency rather than have an embarrassing one like Argentina or Zimbabwe.

I hope it works out for them, of course. I don't understand how the transactions are "commission-free", and its success will be a matter of catching the country up in financial literacy (avoiding scams).

Actually people have developed a feeling of protesting against everything which they feel is not right for them which is good thing but without understanding the importance or usage of the bills just blindly picking up anti bitcoin boards and protesting against them is not going to work as government is not going to reverse the bills(made for their benefits).They were completely dominated by the USD and then everything was fine inspite of inflation and outside government hindering their economy but now when bitcoin which brings them freedom is with them they are ignoring it.Same as you said like cars and train protest by people were totally useless as are they not using any of them until they are associated with any tribal caste ? Is the world moving around on two wheeler only? No.So when time will pass they will get to know it's importance and will adopt to it and till the time fiat has not been banned and those who fear btc can use fiat and make their condition worsen in future.

Like the people sending money to the country were using Western Union previously and they were charging too much like $5 for $50 of fund transfer which is too much compared to bitcoin fees also which they consider is too much and now if the country is providing you opportunities you tend to oppose them.



If not now they will soon realise that bitcoin is their currency not USD and will not fear it but will accept it as half million users are already sign up on Chivo wallet as announced so it's good to see this happening.

LOL.. that is the point. I know countries where computers were banned in the 90s, because the government thought that it will result in joblessness. And I do share your concern about speculation. But is it possible for Bitcoin to drop by 80% from the current levels? Prices are getting stabilized after a sharp correction and now everyone is waiting for the next bull run. Even if a correction occurs, I don't expect it to be as bad as it was in 2014/15 and 2018/19. Everyone will be happy when the prices are going up. But Bukele will be in trouble when the prices go down (even by 20% or 30%).

They will have a huge problems with smaller companies adopting BTC as a official payment. Crytpo education there is still pretty low and government will have spend quite a lot of money to educate their people.
But you are right, if BTC really starts being mass adopted around the world, then Salvador will get pretty rich

I'm not sure what's scarier: a government-owned wallet, or an entire country that relies on a single custodial wallet. I'm totally fine using custodial LN wallets for small amounts, and I realize my (small) funds are in someone else's hands. If that happens to an entire country, it might need regulation similar to banks, because an exit scam would end in a bail out and I don't think regulators will allow that risk.

Well that's a good idea to spread bitcoin within the country, indeed el Salvador already saved bitcoin as a legal tender wherein all they need to do is to keep spreading bitcoin by making machines and etc so that enthusiast can avail such features as well. Its not bad actually wherein it's normal that we see some negative feedback because of some people who have negative comments of crypo..  I mean just be thankful that we are not out of knowledge because up to now we still able to make good return from it despite of some negative feedbacks about crypto currency..

Most probably the government was urging to use that wallet to giveaway $30 in bitcoin but they are free to use any wallet and like most common is Strike among El Salvador for lightning network payment as you might have seen in some stores and videos.But launch of more than 200 bitcoin and other in past El Salvador is ready to adapt to the future inspite os some protest among people to legalize it but when they will use it they will automatically comes to know dollar domination could be feed by using btc and protest would turn out in support.

This country allows legal Bitcoin bidding, so they don't need to set up Bitcoin ATMs but force people to accept Bitcoin for payment.
I can't see a bigger benefit than the ATM's Bitcoin advertising. It may be a waste of money in the short term, but it has long-term effects on El Salvador's Bitcoin payment policy.

This action shows how much El Salvador cares about Bitcoin adoption to reach really high levels. After making Bitcoin legal tender, they are trying every way they can to convince their people to start using Bitcoin as their main currency. And this is a clever way of doing it. If they place these Bitcoin ATMs to the right places like gas stations etc., they can benefit from it a lot.

This is undoubtedly one of the smartest move I've seen made by a democratic Republic state. This won't only make it a lot easier for the citizens in transacting but also help boost their economy growth.

If Bitcoin becomes legal tender, there is no need to install Bitcoin ATMs because people already use Bitcoin in their day-to-day transactions instead of cash. The installation of Bitcoin ATMs is only to decorate and advertise the policy of the founder of the Bitcoin movement in this country, the president.

Maybe it's normal for humans to oppose anything that is new at beginning, and yet again it doesn't mean that everything that is new is always better than old.
Bitcoin is much better than any fiat currency system for sure, and I think that president said that Bitcoin in El Salavdor will be optional not mandatory, so this means  that only smart people will use it.
Latest research is showing that 70% of people in El Salvador are against new Bitcoin bill, meanwhile protests are not allowed and people are getting arrested for doing that.
History showed us many times that majority herd is usually never right

As we are talking about Bitcoin ATMs one interesting news is that Lamassu released code for their machines as Open Source!
https://github.com/lamassu

Didn't people protest against trains and cars in the past? Or more recently against cell phone towers? It's normal

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I wonder what happens to Bitcoin adoption in El Salvador when Bitcoin rises 800%. I expect (poor) people to start speculating with the little money they have, and some will lose a lot when Bitcoin drops 80% again. People who were no where near rich enough to speculate on Bitcoin will suddenly have an easy opportunity to do so.

A couple of days ago, I saw an article on a survey performed by the Central American University (UCA), whereby over two thirds of the population of El Salvador are opposed to bitcoin being a currency there. 1.281 people took part in the survey, and the technical details on how the survey population was drafted seemed ok (you need to look at the survey itself to see this information).
 
Part of the conclusions state that 90% of the people there do not really understand bitcoin/Bitcoin, and 80% did not place much trust in it, or none at all. 70% believe that their legal system (Asamblea Legislativa) should revoke the Bitcoin Law. 95,9% believe bitcoin should, in any case, be voluntary in accepting payments, not mandatory.

The survey (see pdf below in Spanish) goes on to depict other socio-economic factors, as well as more bitcoin related matters.


The numbers do not match those seem on protests in El Salvador, but I’m pretty sure that, for the most, the population is still in the blue with regards to bitcoin.


See:
https://uca.edu.sv/iudop/wp-content/uploads/Boletin-BTC-Coyuntura-2021-2.pdf
https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/majority-of-salvadorans-do-not-want-bitcoin-poll-shows-2021-09-02

I guess the biggest task is trying to educate the masses on what bitcoin is, security and how to avoid scams and also some ideas about the bitcoin market and economics. This is possible if a lot of funds are injected into education and different types of adverts on media.

I have seen very local populations in remote areas get attached to and even believe in scam Ponzi schemes like Onecoin because of their aggressive advertising techniques and massive conferences 

I know bitcoin does not need to be advertised or marketed but for the sake of keeping a majority of the population well-informed, I think it's a necessary evil.

Similar to this Japan made a move years back. Japan supported the shops and suggested to implement bitcoin acceptance. That made a big change in the over-all market through the massive adoption. What we see with El Salvador with the addition of more bitcoin ATMs is a way to speedup the adoption around the country.

Few posts mentioned about certain group of people against the usage of bitcoin. However these group of people will change their minds gradually. Because, people who took an opposite stand against crypto has now begun to invest good on cryptocurrency.

I just read from the news that majority of El Salvador people are not in favor of the new Bitcoin. Some of them has no idea at all and others has a doubt of having problems from getting loss in the trade.

I think the president must conduct public seminar about Bitcoin and how it can help their lives.

Woohaa!!! That's a nice market candle boost.

Really good to see El Salvador pushing though with their statement in being the first country to democratise/legalise digital currency and embrace BTC.
The fact that they're really going for it with ATMS should hopefully lead other countries to think harder about why they shouldn't jump in, and if that happens a new crypto wave will take place - let's hope for the best.

They will always find someone contradicting their move. But once people start learning how to utilize crypto and experience the benefits of it, more than likely, they will change their stance. Some are against without basis. Maybe, they need to educate also their citizens, it may help them in further understanding the nature of crypto. All the information can be found via internet but getting it from actual talks or seminars would be helpful to some as they can directly ask questions to their authorities.

I am more and more amazed by the president of El Salvador, he is a wise head of state
El Salvador is like challenging the world and betting on the world that Bitcoin can improve the economy of their small country

nothing can stop bitcoin adoption in El Salvador although in some tweets I see some El Salvadorans objecting to bitcoin regulation in their country