El Salvador Buys $ 21 Million In Bitcoin: Crypto’s Cash Debut

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El Salvador became the first country in the world to accept bitcoin as legal tender on Tuesday, September 7, and marked the occasion by purchasing around $ 21 million in digital currency, President Nayib Bukele said on Twitter.

In several tweets, Bukele said the country bought 400 bitcoins on Monday (September 6). The purchases were announced through several tweets within hours of each other. Based on prices at the time of the tweets, the purchases were around $ 20.9 million, CNBC reported.

Our brokers will buy a lot more as the deadline approaches, he tweeted.

Bitcoin rose in the wake of the president’s tweets, reaching $ 52,583.83 at half past midnight Tuesday, September 7, according to data from Coinbase. At 5:30 a.m., the price was $ 51,270.30.

See also: El Salvador to make bitcoin legal

Bitcoin will be accepted as cash and will work in conjunction with the US dollar. Although this is a significant achievement for the country, this decision has not been greeted with open arms by the citizens of the country.

An August poll by the University of Central America showed that 70% wanted the new law to be repealed, 90% said they did not fully understand cryptography, and 80% said they had little or no not trust bitcoin.

See also: Poll shows 70% of Salvadorans are anti-Bitcoin

When announcing the new law in June, the president said he expected the adoption of bitcoin as legal tender would help spur job creation and promote financial inclusion. The country also launched the Chivo digital wallet with $ 30 for each resident who downloaded it.

The poll also showed, however, that 65% of those polled had no interest in the wallet, even for $ 30 in bitcoin.

See also: Adults in El Salvador could get $ 30 in Bitcoin before adoption

El Salvador’s Congress last week introduced new legislation to create a $ 150 million fund that would help people easily convert bitcoin to U.S. dollars, CNBC reported.

Chainalysis chief economist Philip Gradwell told CNBC that El Salvador is a first experience since bitcoin, by design, is not meant to be a medium of exchange.

I think the primary use in El Salvador will really be around remittances and the people who use them to save wealth and really maybe just to compete with the dollar in the country.

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NEW PYMNTS DATA: 58% OF MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES USE CRYPTO-CURRENCY

By the way: Despite price volatility and regulatory uncertainty, a new study from PYMNTS shows that 58% of multinational companies are already using at least one form of cryptocurrency, especially when transferring funds across borders. The new Cryptocurrency, Blockchain and Global Business survey, a PYMNTS and Circle collaboration, probing 500 executives about the potential and pitfalls that crypto faces as it becomes part of the mainstream financial sector.

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