Salvadorans Protest Against Bitcoin As Legal Tender
Thousands of citizens have taken to the streets in El Salvador, to protest against the introduction of Bitcoin as its legal tender.
Recall that last week, El Salvador became the first country to use the virtual currency as a legal tender, alongside the US dollar.
The country’s president, Nayib Bukele says the cryptocurrency will help Salvadorans working abroad to send money back home.
However, demonstrators fear it will bring instability and inflation to the impoverished Latin American country. Some protesters set fire to a brand-new Bitcoin machine, while others held signs reading “Bukele Dictator”.
The demonstrators, gathered in the capital San Salvador on the 200th anniversary of the country’s independence, brandishing placards reading “No to Bitcoin” and “Respect the Constitution”.
They accuse the president of using authoritarian means to tighten his grip on power.
Mr. Bukele has moved to cement control over the judiciary which recently cleared him to run for office for a second successive term despite constitutional limits.
“It’s important to say this morning: Enough already! What the government is doing is arrogant, it is authoritarianism,” a protester told Reuters news agency.
There is growing scepticism in El Salvador as the country prepares to be the first in the world to recognise Bitcoin as legal tender.
The government has presented the measure as a way to boost economic development and jobs.
Polls suggest Salvadorians are not prepared for the move, and the World Bank has warned against its adoption.
again FUD useless article against Bitcoin…