The government of El Salvador has shocked the world by declaring to become the first nation in the world to accept Bitcoin as a legal tender. The country has already passed the law and made Bitcoin a parallel mode of payment alongside USD. This massive transformation took place when president-elect Nayib Bukele proposed that the use of Bitcoin could result in invoking several economic benefits for the country.
However, many people have criticized this step. There have been some reports about the protest from the local business community as well. On the other hand, the organizations like IMF have also shared their reservations about the said transition too. The local media outlets of El Salvador have now pointed out a huge scandal taking the form of identity theft in the region.
One of the biggest media outlets in El Salvador called El Diario de Hoy has highlighted a huge issue that is affecting the Bitcoin promotion policies of the local government. President Bukele had announced the distribution of a state-recognized Bitcoin wallet called Chivo. To ensure that as many people as possible avail this wallet, the government also introduced a sign-up gift of $30 in Bitcoin upon registration.
However, there have been several cases of identity theft to accumulate the new sign-up gift. According to the media outlet, many citizens who want to download the wallet and sign up are finding out that they are unable to use their government-issued identity documents to get a registration confirmation. A local economist called Tatiana Marroquin recently tweeted that an account on her name already existed on the Chivo wallet even before she decided to download the application.
Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin Criticizes El Salvador’s President
Recently, Vitalik Buterin, who is known for being one of the co-founders of the silver cryptocurrency Ethereum criticized the Bitcoin adoption in El Salvador. His views about the South American country were posted on a Reddit thread called r/cryptocurrency. The thread called for opinions on the matter of mass Bitcoin adoption policy in El Salvador.
As per Buterin, by making it mandatory for people to buy and purchase only one specific cryptocurrency, the concept of freedom of choice has been taken away from the masses. He also criticized the Bitcoin maximalists who have been praising President Bukele for taking this huge step. On the other hand, President Bukele claims that Bitcoin can allow the locals to get a chance to better their financial standing and expand their businesses.
