In less than a week, Bitcoin is going to become a legal tender in El Salvador. President Nayib Bukele is insistent that the progress of the country must make Bitcoin a legal tender there. A few years ago, the native currency of the region was abandoned in favour of the USD due to massive inflation. However, Bukele believes that he can help people to take back control by switching to a new mode of payment.
He has claimed earlier that the policies of the centralized authorities are not going to bring any good news for Salvador. On September 7th, the South American country will recognize Bitcoin as its official legal tender. By the decree of this new law, all merchants, vendors, and other economic stakeholders must accept Bitcoin as a legitimate mode of payment.
Bitcoin Acceptance will Increase Crimes
Media outlets like Reuters and Euronews recently spoke with the members of the union that is arranging protests against the new Bitcoin law in Salvador. The spokesperson for the Supreme Justice workers’ union named Stanley Quinteros, claimed that there is a lot of volatility associated with the Bitcoin market that can cause damage to the Salvadorian market.
He further added that the people who are taking part in these protests are veterans, people with jobs, and those who depend on their pension income. He further added that most people do not want to deal with Bitcoin, which is difficult to understand and has a complicated investment structure. The protestors also claim that the state has been known to impose unilateral, unsolicited, and authoritarian policies in the region.
The ASTIC is an association of Cargo service providers in El Salvador. The union members of ASTIC also registered their protest against the new Bitcoin law. They demanded that the government needs to make some amends in Article 7 of the BTC policy that warrants mandatory acceptance. The union workers also issued a collective decision that no carrier services are going to comply with the new law unless the state agrees to address their issues.
Meanwhile, another group of protestors who arranged a rally in front of Congress demanded immediate changes in the Bitcoin laws. The protestors also remarked that they are going to charge 20% higher for Bitcoin-based bills to protect themselves from volatility. Meanwhile, the student body protestors claim that with cryptocurrency the crimes like weapon smuggling, human trafficking, drug dealing, tax evasion, and other types of terrorist activities are going to increase. The people also claim that with Bitcoin, there is a huge danger for the stability of the MSMEs in the region.