Salvadorans take to the streets to protest Bitcoin Law

Published at: July 23, 2021

Protesters calling themselves the Popular Resistance and Rebellion Block have come out against El Salvador’s government passing a law making Bitcoin legal tender.

A Tuesday tweet from local news outlet El Mundo shows Salvadorans carrying banners saying “No to Bitcoin” in the streets of San Salvador demanding a repeal of the country's Bitcoin Law. Legislative assembly members Anabel Belloso and Dina Argueta addressed the protesters after first meeting the group separated by a barrier of razor wire.

RT @SusanaPenate: Miembros del Bloque de Resistencia y Rebeldía Popular llegaron a presentar una propuesta de derogar la Ley Bitcoin. Salen a recibirlos Dina Argueta y Anabel Bellosopic.twitter.com/CXFLDW4tsr

— Diario El Mundo (@ElMundoSV) July 20, 2021

In a letter made available at the protest, the Popular Resistance and Rebellion Block group claimed that President Nayib Bukele passed the law making the cryptocurrency legal tender in the country without proper consultations with the people. It also cited the volatility of Bitcoin (BTC), comparing investing in the cryptocurrency to playing the lottery: “betting on the lottery is a voluntary act, while Bitcoin is required by law.”

Related: Coercion and coexistence: How El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law may change global finance

However, the group’s main grievance around the Bitcoin legal framework seemed to be centered around a perceived disparity in the cryptocurrency’s usage by the government when compared with the average resident in El Salvador. Protesters said Bitcoin “only serves some large businessmen, especially those linked to the government, to launder ill-gotten money.”

“Entrepreneurs who put their capital in Bitcoin will not pay taxes on their earnings,” said the letter. “In addition, to apply Bitcoin the government will spend millions of dollars of the taxes paid by the people.”

They added:

"Bitcoin would facilitate public corruption and the operations of drug, arms and human traffickers, extortionists and tax evaders. It would also cause monetary chaos. It would hit people's salaries, pensions and savings, ruin many MSMEs, affect low-income families and hit the middle class."

Though passed by El Salvador’s government and signed into law by Bukele in June, the law recognizing Bitcoin as legal currency in the country will not go into effect until Sept. 7. The Popular Resistance and Rebellion Block’s protest was aimed at government officials to demand the law be repealed. In addition, the World Bank has also refused to help El Salvador transition to a Bitcoin-friendly framework, given its “environmental and transparency shortcomings.”

Related: What is really behind El Salvador’s ‘Bitcoin Law’? Experts answer

During a scheduled visit by the U.S. State Department earlier this month, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland suggested El Salvador ensure Bitcoin is well regulated and transparent, but did not explicitly say anything against the country’s move to a more digital economy. Some proponents of the law including Bukele have suggested Bitcoin could help facilitate remittance payments from Salvadoran citizens living abroad and lessen the country’s reliance on the U.S. dollar.

Tags
Adoption
Bitcoin
Regulation
Bitcoin Regulation
El Salvador
Related Posts
What should the crypto industry expect from regulators in 2022? Experts answer, Part 1
Yat Siu of Animoca Brands Yat is the co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, which delivers digital property rights to the world’s gamers and internet users, thereby creating a new asset class, play-to-earn economies and a more equitable digital framework contributing to the building of the open Metaverse. “Regulation will start to become more defined in 2022, although how, exactly, remains to be seen. 2021’s milestone was probably the substantial growth in public awareness of blockchain — Collins Dictionary even declared ‘NFT’ the word of the year.” These quotes have been edited and condensed. The views, thoughts and opinions …
Decentralization / Jan. 8, 2022
Volcanos, Bitcoin and remittances: A Tongan lord plans for financial security
A former member of the Tongan Parliament is behind a proposal to make Bitcoin (BTC) legal tender in the tiny Pacific nation of Tonga, following in the footsteps of El Salvador. It’s due for a vote in Parliament in May and the early signs are encouraging. Mataʻiʻulua ʻi Fonuamotu, Lord Fusitu’a told Cointelegraph that plans are in motion to use state-run volcano mining facilities to create wealth in Tonga. Tonga has 21 volcanoes. “That means one volcano for every 5,000 people.” He owns one volcano himself through his family’s hereditary land rights. The proposed Bitcoin mining operations would use the …
Adoption / Jan. 14, 2022
Countries where Bitcoin (BTC) is legal
Which countries are banning Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies? Banning a global technology and economic paradigm like BTC is not the best approach for governments to protect their citizens from the risks of this asset class. It is by hand holding them through the journey, educating and setting the right controls in place that safeguarding retail customers can be achieved. There have been several bans on BTC, other cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency mining across the world. China banned cryptocurrencies in 2021 in light of its central bank digital currency, and it also affected Bitcoin mining. As a result, the BTC hash rate …
Adoption / Aug. 13, 2022
Pro-Bitcoin president of El Salvador to offer citizenship for foreign investors
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele wants to offer citizenship to those who invest in the small Central American nation. President Bukele took to Twitter to inform the crypto community on Sunday that he was sending a list of 52 legal reforms to Congress. Among the most notable proposals, Bukele called for the removal of red tape, reducing bureaucracy, creating tax incentives and most importantly offering citizenships to foreigners looking to invest in the nation. I’m sending 52 legal reforms to congress, to remove red tape, reduce bureaucracy, create tax incentives, citizenship in exchange for investments, new securities laws, stability contracts, …
Adoption / Feb. 21, 2022
El Salvador celebrates Bitcoin anniversary: A year of ups and downs
Sept. 7, 2022 marks exactly one year since El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender by enforcing the Bitcoin Law. Advocating for Bitcoin as legal tender last year, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele promised that Bitcoin adoption would benefit the 70% of the local population that had a lack of access to banking services as of 2021. The Salvadoran government also touted Bitcoin as a tool to attract foreign investment, create new jobs and cut reliance on the U.S. dollar in the country’s economy. One may question the current real benefits …
Adoption / Sept. 7, 2022