Protests broke out Wednesday in El Salvador, after Bitcoin witnessed its biggest crash in nearly a month, just a day after the Central American nation became the first country in the world to adopt the popular cryptocurrency as a legal tender.

The country’s president, Nayib Bukele, announced on Monday that they had acquired roughly $21 million bitcoin worth in order to uplift the circulation of the digital currency among its citizens.

This came three months after the president had announced in June that he has sent a bill to the country’s parliament for a vote on the currency’s adoption.

Lawmakers in the Central American country voted by a “supermajority” in favour of the Bitcoin Law, which received 62 out of 84 of the legislature’s vote. The price of bitcoin was up 5 per cent to $34,239.17 shortly after the vote.

“From today, businesses will be obliged where possible to accept the controversial digital coins as payment,” a BBC report quoted the government as saying Tuesday.

Daniel Hercules, 26, a Salvadorian taxi driver expressed excitement by the move, but that he is also worried about how stable his earnings will be.

“I’ve accepted Bitcoin for about two months since I knew this was coming. I just had someone pay me $40 in Bitcoin for a fare to the airport but it’s rare. Only around 10% of customers prefer to pay with Bitcoin,” the BBC quoted him as saying.

Meanwhile, a survey by the Central American University (UCA) found that only 4.8 per cent of the 1,281 people who took part understood what Bitcoin is all about.

It was noted that more than 68 per cent of respondents said they disagreed with using cryptocurrency as a legal tender.

Bitcoin crashes
Nearly 24-hour after El Salvador’s Bitcoin policy took effect, Bitcoin crashed to its lowest in nearly a month. It fell from the $52,000 benchmark it has been trading in days to below $43,000 at some point.

Over 1,000 protesters took to the streets of San Salvador to vent their plights, opposing the Latin American country’s adoption of Bitcoin as a legal tender.

The crash in the price of the currency happened as platforms such as Apple and Huawei refused to offer the government-backed digital wallet, called Chivo, which resulted in servers having to be pulled offline after user registrations could not be sustained.

Within this period, the coin experienced a low of $43,285.21 and oscillated to a high of $51,240.80 before settling at $$46,099.20 on Wednesday at 10.21 AM Nigerian time.

By implication, the price of the digital currency has plummeted by 29.34 per cent after it touched an all-time-high record of $64,829.14 in April, coinmarketcap.com data showed.

FreeStuffsNG:
A loose canon seems to be in charge in that country. They got the kind of leader they deserve; he wants to take short cut to national prosperity in a country not producing anything but collecting. Smh. He is even mocking IMF, his nation's major creditor that recently helped it out of covid-19 induced economic contraction when he was challenged for using foreign donations, diaspora forex remittances and international debts to buy Bitcoin !

Well, it is their wahala. They are a small country with a small population of just around 6m people so they can't give the rest of the world problem. His solution to the prevalent drug gang violence and poverty in his tiny country is crypto. So much for those who believe in white supremacy in the only country in South America that doesn't officially recognise it has an indigenous black community.
I can't just imagine President Muhammadu Buhari converting diaspora remittances of Nigerians overseas to Bitcoin and converting naira to Bitcoin, all hell will be let loose niyen. Hopefully, someday, those who are filled with bigotry and hatred for this great nation will not reach the stage they completely lose all in life before they learn to appreciate our strengths and successes as a nation.
God bless Nigeria.
FreeStuffsNG

biosilicon:


WOW! You just publicly embarassed yourself. That is why its best to keep mute in matters you know little about. All you did was show that freestuffsNG is run by an ignoramus.

Nigerians don't read but since you are running a business, you'll be doing yourself a world of good by learning what sound money is, why the current global financial system will inevitably crumble and why BTC represents hope.

The Elsavadorian president is a visionary, what he did is cheating because it is purely a shortcut to his country's economic prosperity. smart man. Those one thousand people protesting are probably illiterates or political opposition sponsored that know nothing about BTC. The president knew this would happen and warned before hand.

FreeStuffsNG:


I really clap for you sir. I can figure your age and generation from your remark- that generation that won't read yet have opinion on everything and whoever draws your attention to what you don't have the temperament and discipline to sit down and read, you will haul insults at.
Just continue, you will learn las las that everything is not about social and and naira and kobo. You will learn at last even if it's too late for you ,some day, you will.

biosilicon:


I have already succeeded and i remain grateful. but Apologies if you feel insulted. everything i said is true. Its just annoying when people ignorantly publicly condemn what they don't understand but will ultimately liberate them. You don't know my age but i'll bet i'm older than you. Its not about age, its about understanding, and that only comes through knowledge.

jamace:
Bitcoin will rise again between $40,000 and $43000.

Donaro:


Well ....you might be wrong
Don't be surprise if you see BTC at 20-28k before it eventually goes up
Save this comment

Donaro:


Well ....you might be wrong
Don't be surprise if you see BTC at 20-28k before it eventually goes up
Save this comment

Kryptobi:


It is not possible. BTC will never go to 20k again ever. Buy it now and secure your future.
Save this comment.

jamace:

Ok. Save my comment too...

Kryptobi:


It is not possible. BTC will never go to 20k again ever. Buy it now and secure your future.
Save this comment.

Kryptobi:


It is not possible. BTC will never go to 20k again ever. Buy it now and secure your future.
Save this comment.

Kryptobi:


This is no more possible than saying BTC is going to 3k.

Kryptobi:


BTC is now mainstream, mark my words it will never ever see 20k ever again. November will make it 2 years and 1 month that I've been in this game.
Cc: showafrica

ElectronicMoney:


All it needs is for one serious Black swan event to happen and the price will come tumbling down.

If for instance the central banks of the US, UK and China launch their own digital currencies at the same time I can guarantee you that the price of Beeteecee will crash momentarily

jamace:
Bitcoin will rise again between $40,000 and $43000.

FreeStuffsNG:
A loose canon seems to be in charge in that country. They got the kind of leader they deserve; he wants to take short cut to national prosperity in a country not producing anything but collecting. Smh. He is even mocking IMF, his nation's major creditor that recently helped it out of covid-19 induced economic contraction when he was challenged for using foreign donations, diaspora forex remittances and international debts to buy Bitcoin !

Well, it is their wahala. They are a small country with a small population of just around 6m people so they can't give the rest of the world problem. His solution to the prevalent drug gang violence and poverty in his tiny country is crypto. So much for those who believe in white supremacy in the only country in South America that doesn't officially recognise it has an indigenous black community.
I can't just imagine President Muhammadu Buhari converting diaspora remittances of Nigerians overseas to Bitcoin and converting naira to Bitcoin, all hell will be let loose niyen. Hopefully, someday, those who are filled with bigotry and hatred for this great nation will not reach the stage they completely lose all in life before they learn to appreciate our strengths and successes as a nation.
God bless Nigeria.
FreeStuffsNG