In an interview with Time magazine, El Salvador’s pro-Bitcoin President, Nayib Bukele struck a positive note on cryptocurrency despite the fact his nation has been slow to adopt it.
Bukele said his country’s gamble on the traded security was one that has paid off financially, but its use domestically has fallen short of growth expectations.
“It hasn’t had the adoption we expected,” Bukele said. “I expected more adoption, definitely, but we always prided ourselves on being a free country, free in every way.”
Bukele: Optimistic about Bitcoin, still worried about losing support
Bukele says that the nation’s economy still benefited greatly as El Salvador’s initial Bitcoin investment of $135 million has since grown to more than $400 million. Since that investment, and Bukele’s defense of it and his cryptocurrency policy, several crypto institutions have opened offices in San Salvador, the nation’s capital.
That said, “I feel that it could have worked better,” Bukele said of coming out in support of Bitcoin, “and there is still time to make some improvements, but it hasn’t resulted in anything negative. On the contrary, it gave us branding, it brought us investments, it brought us tourism.”
Though outwardly optimistic, Time reports that Bukele still fears losing popular support among Salvadorans because of his all-in approach to Bitcoin.
Making it and other cryptocurrencies legal tender in El Salvador has given citizens doubts about the economic future of the country, which is still one of the poorest in the western hemisphere. Time also reported that less than 12 percent of El Salvador’s population has made even one transaction with Bitcoin since it was made legal tender Sept. 7, 2021.
Featured image via Pixlr.
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