El Salvador’s Bitcoin (BTC) holdings have had minimal influence on the wider community, and the nation’s agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) might further hinder its Bitcoin plans, as stated by Quentin Ehrenmann, the general manager at My First Bitcoin, a non-profit organization (NGO) aimed at promoting Bitcoin adoption.
Ehrenmann informed Reuters that revoking the Bitcoin legal tender statutes under the IMF arrangement has resulted in a gap in public BTC education or government-driven adoption efforts. In a translated comment, he conveyed to the news agency:
“Since the government has engaged in this pact with the IMF, Bitcoin is no longer regarded as legal tender, and we have not witnessed any other initiatives to enlighten the populace. The government, seemingly, continues to gather Bitcoin, which is advantageous for them — it does not directly benefit the citizens.”
The Central American nation also consented to refrain from acquiring any additional BTC under the accord, a detail that was verified in a recent IMF document, which contradicted assertions by El Salvador’s Bitcoin Office that the country is accumulating BTC on a daily basis.
El Salvador’s legislature rolled back public sector engagement in Bitcoin in January to ensure compliance with the IMF loan agreement, igniting discussions about whether the nation’s Bitcoin endeavor concluded in failure.
Related: El Salvador hasn’t purchased Bitcoin since signing loan agreement, IMF states
Cointelegraph gathers insights from Salvadorans
Cointelegraph visited El Salvador in 2023 to gather insights on how small enterprises and ordinary Salvadorans were utilizing Bitcoin.
Joe Hall utilized Bitcoin to settle his hostel bill via IBEX Pay, a payments service facilitating BTC transactions for merchants over the Bitcoin Lightning Network.
The Lightning Network is employed to transfer Bitcoin nearly instantaneously and is more suited for routine, smaller purchases like coffee or a meal at a cafe.
“It’s quicker than the credit card,” the hostel worker accepting the Bitcoin Lightning transaction conveyed to the journalist.
Nevertheless, a deficit of education continued to serve as an obstacle to the widespread uptake of Bitcoin in El Salvador, as noted by the reporter, who had to demonstrate to the hostel clerk how to accept a payment via the Lightning Network.
Magazine: What it’s actually like to use Bitcoin in El Salvador