(TargetLiberty.org) – On September 7, El Salvador will become the first nation to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. The country recently passed a law to create a $150-million fund to convert Bitcoin to US dollars (the current legal tender) in preparation for the cryptocurrency’s launch. However, not all Salvadorans are happy about the changes.
According to news reports, protests broke out ahead of the launch, with people carrying signs bearing messages like, “We don’t want bitcoin” and “No to corrupt money laundering!”
Critics of President Nayib Bukele’s decision to make it a legal tender worry about the government paying out retirement benefits in the volatile cryptocurrency. Reuters spoke to a labor union member who said, “We know this coin fluctuates drastically.” They pointed out the fact that the country won’t have any control over the changing value of Bitcoin.
Salvadoran economist Ricardo Castañeda told The Guardian he believes Bukele adopted the law without understanding its ramifications. He believes it could turn the country into a “haven for money laundering.” El Salvador already grapples with a significant crime problem.
Bukele and lawmakers are pushing forward with the change anyway. The president claims the cryptocurrency will create jobs and make the country less reliant on American aid money.
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