On September 7, El Salvador enacts a law that makes Bitcoin legal tender in the local jurisdiction. This event was preceded by the announcement of the adoption of the cryptocurrency by Salvadoran President Nayib Buquele back in the summer. Although he was met with support in the cryptocurrency community, Salvadorans themselves are in no hurry to rejoice. A recent University of Central America (UCA) population survey showed that a majority of Salvadoran residents do not agree with the government’s strategy. We tell you more about what is happening.

It should be noted that it is dangerous to criticize the actions of the authorities in El Salvador. Proof of this was the detention the day before of Mario Gomez, a specialist in cryptocurrencies and computer systems. The activist often criticized the president’s decision to make BTC a national payment instrument. In addition, he talked about paying transaction fees in the national cryptocurrency wallet Chivo at the expense of citizens, although they were initially positioned as zero. Read more about the story in a separate piece.

Apparently, many citizens aren’t thrilled with the government’s initiative either. At least according to polls, they do not share the enthusiasm for Bitcoin being recognized as a national payment medium in the country.

A total of 1,281 people took part in the survey. 67.9 percent of respondents disagree or disagree fundamentally with the fact that Bitcoin will soon become legal tender. Slightly less than a third of those surveyed still see something positive in this event.

Here is a quote from UCA Dean Andreu Oliva on the matter, in which the expert shares his view of what is happening. Decrypt cites the quote.

In addition to the rejection of Bitcoin as legal tender, for the first time we have found significant disagreement between the public and the decisions made by the Legislature and the president. There are too many concerns about the negative consequences of cryptocurrency use at the state level.

First of all, analysts are confused by Bitcoin’s volatility, that is, its sharp changes in value. According to experts, this feature will definitely not suit ordinary citizens, who may not survive a conditional collapse in the price of the cryptocurrency by half. The same applies to companies whose existence depends on the amount of available funds for daily operating expenses.

There is also the problem of infrastructure for cryptocurrency payments. In case of its imperfection, business owners will be directly responsible for storing coins. Well, this will make them a target for hackers from around the world, experts suggest.

According to sources, a study commissioned earlier this summer by the Center for Citizen Studies at the Universidad Francisco Gavidia (UFG) found that more than three-quarters of Salvadorans consider the use of bitcoins in daily life “not very sensible” or “not at all sensible. And opposition to the government manifests itself not only in polls, but even in protests. For example, in July, a group of activists from the Bloc of Resistance and Revolt held a rally against the adoption of Bitcoin outside the country’s Legislative Assembly.

And yet, September 7 is near – after that date, local businesses will be forced to accept BTC, if customers want it. Buchele had previously promised that crypto integration would be voluntary, but it looks like that’s not the case: the digital assets will be promoted quite actively and persistently beforehand. We believe that with so much resistance from the public, there will be no good economic results or the right ideology. After all, Satoshi Nakamoto promoted ideas of independence and freedom from the traditional financial system, not totalitarianism.

However, the overall popularization of cryptocurrency on a national scale is in any case a positive for the industry. This has never happened before, which means that El Salvador’s example can become a model for other states. Even if it is not the smoothest.