Sharp Decline In Crypto Payments Puts El Salvador’s Bitcoin Adoption In Question

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Salvadorska vlada obožuje bitcoine, a Salvadorci? Ne preveč. Odkrito bitcoinom prijazna država je leta 2023 zabeležila močan upad plačil v kriptovalutah, kljub skoku cen bitcoina in znatnim vladnim prizadevanjem za promocijo.

According to the Central Bank of El Salvador, the amount of money Salvadorans living outside their country sent to their local relatives—known as “remesas” or remittances—padla na 82.93 $ milijon od $ 116.4 milijonov v 2022, in a stark contrast to the historical high of $8,181.8 million in all forms of family remittances—a 4.6% increase from the previous year.

According to official statistics, Salvadorans sent over $30 million less in crypto when compared to the previous year, and only 1% of the total remittances were made in crypto during all of 2023. The ratio is even worse than the 1.7% registriran leta 2022.

Under President Nayib Bukele’s leadership, El Salvador has engaged in aggressive campaigns to embed Bitcoin into the country’s financial fabric, collaborating with Bitcoin proponents such as Max Keizer, Jack Mallers, Saifedean Amous, and major exchanges like Binance in Bitfinex.

Kljub tem odmevnim zavezništvom – in statusu države kot prve, ki je Bitcoin razglasila za zakonito plačilno sredstvo – javnost Bitcoin še vedno sprejema mlačno. Nedavna raziskava je pokazala, da 88 % prebivalstva leta 2023 ni uporabljalo kriptovalute, in zdi se, da zanimanje za kriptovalute s časom upada.

The financial maneuverings of the Bukele administration, especially where Bitcoin is concerned, have been zavito v skrivnost and controversy. The methodology of Bitcoin purchases, the nation’s actual Bitcoin holdings, and the wallet addresses remain undisclosed, raising questions about transparency and accountability in the country’s crypto endeavors.

These practices have just served to heat up the country’s political ecosystem, which right now is tinted by an authoritarian aura in which Bukele controls the government, the congress, the courts, and all the political institutions. Further complicating the landscape, Bukele’s governance has been marked by contentious moves, including extending his presidency beyond the constitutionally allowed terms and enforcing an indefinite state of emergency to combat gang activity.

Ta dejanja, skupaj s hitrim postopkom sprejemanja Bitcoina, slikajo slog upravljanja, ki pogosto daje prednost hitremu ukrepanju na račun premisleka in preglednosti.

Paradoks pokrajine nakazil v Salvadorju je očiten. Država je opazila opazno rast tradicionalnih bančnih kanalov in alternativnih načinov nakazil. Pravzaprav podatki centralne banke razkrivajo raznolik in močan ekosistem nakazil, kar izpodbija pripoved, da bo Bitcoin revolucioniral način, kako Salvadorci prejemajo denar iz tujine.

Kljub pionirski vlogi Salvadorja pri sprejemanju bitcoinov je na svetovnem prizorišču v bistvu sam. Prizadevanja drugih držav, kot je Srednjeafriška republika, da bi Bitcoin razglasili za zakonito plačilno sredstvo, so bila kmalu po začetku neuspešna.

Venezuela, še ena politično nemirna država, je prav tako legalizirala uporabo kriptovalute kot plačilnega sredstva, vendar je uradni žeton države na robu morebitne zaustavitve. Sprejetje kriptovalut je v zadnjih letih močno upadlo, potem ko je vlada preklicala svoje omejitve za dolar, s čimer je uradne tečaje dejansko povezala s tečaji na črnem trgu.

Uredil Ryan Ozawa.