As El Salvador prepares to use Bitcoin as legal tender, new study shows most people don’t want it

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Bitcoin will soon be legal tender in El Salvador, but a large part of the population of this Central American country is wary of cryptocurrency and does not know how to use it, according to a survey by Central American University (UCA), a Jesuit university based in El Salvador.

The August survey interviewed 1,281 people and found that seven out of 10 people do not fully understand what Bitcoin is.

In fact, only 4.8% of those surveyed correctly identified Bitcoin as a cryptocurrency, and two in 10 people hadn’t even heard of Bitcoin before.

The study results come just days before the Salvadoran government is set to formalize Bitcoin as legal tender on September 7.

Almost 68% of those polled said they disagreed with the use of cryptocurrency as legal tender.

Bitcoin protests

The move follows a vote to legalize cryptocurrency by lawmakers in June. The poll showed that seven in ten respondents believed lawmakers should repeal the law and eight in ten had little or no confidence in its use.

“What we can see in this survey, in addition to this broad rejection of the implementation of Bitcoin as legal tender, is that for the first time we found a significant disagreement between the population and the decisions made by the ‘Legislative Assembly and the President, “said the dean of the UCA Andreu Oliva.

In recent weeks, hundreds of people have protested against the Bitcoin law in the capital San Salvador. Protesters – including workers, veterans and retirees – have expressed concerns over the use of cryptocurrency, especially if in the future it was used to pay pensions and welfare instead. of the US dollar.

For the benefit of the rich

The survey also showed that most Salvadorans believe that the main beneficiaries will be wealthy foreign investors, the government and business leaders.

President Nayib Bukele and his government have touted the measure as a way to boost employment and economic development by making El Salvador less dependent on the US dollar, the current legal tender.

The new crypto law would put Bitcoin on par with the US dollar, a move that has been criticized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The government did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the poll.

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