SAN SALVADOR: SAN SALVADOR is a city in the state of According to a poll issued on Thursday, more than three-quarters of Salvadorans are suspicious of President Nayib Bukele’s quest to recognize bitcoin as an alternative legal cash, a blow to the maverick leader. Last month, Bukele’s congressional colleagues adopted legislation granting bitcoin official currency status in the small Central American nation, a first for bitcoin. Bukele has pushed for bitcoin adoption as a method to make it easier for Salvadorans living abroad to send money home.
El Salvador has utilized the US dollar as its official currency for many years.
The survey, conducted by pollster Disruptiva, which is linked with Francisco Gavidia University, found that 54% of individuals thought bitcoin adoption was “not at all correct,” while 24% thought it was “just a little correct.”
The cryptocurrency scheme received only about 20% approval.
Between July 4 and 7, 1,233 respondents were polled in El Salvador, with a margin of error of 2.8 percent.
“This is a dangerous bet on digital transformation,” Oscar Picardo, director of Disruptiva’s institute of science, technology, and innovation, said at a press conference announcing the survey’s findings.
According to the survey, 46% of respondents understood “nothing” about bitcoin, and over 65% stated they would not accept payment in the cryptocurrency.
(Nelson Renteria contributed reporting; David Alire Garcia wrote the story; Sandra Maler edited it.)/n
