A small country in Central America, El Salvador has been in the limelight for some time. Indeed, this nation is one of the first to recognize Bitcoin (BTC) as legal and official tender. And to walk the talk, it has set up mining facilities that run on geothermal energy from volcanoes. Even though such advances command admiration and respect, not everyone sees them favorably. Vitalik Buterin is among those who criticize this policy.
Vitalik Buterin does not applaud Salvadoran politics
“Reckless”, it is by this term that Vitalik Buterin qualifies the policy of adoption of Bitcoin (BTC) in El Salvador. And this man is not just anyone! He is the co-founder of Ethereum (ETH), a very important figure in the cryptocurrency sphere.
Speaking on the social network Reddit, Buterin expressed his disapproval of what is happening in El Salvador. For him, this policy is contrary to the “ideals of freedom which are said to be so important to the community of cryptocurrency users”. He even goes so far as to call “ shame ” those who praise Bukele’s decisions, and to qualify them as “Bitcoin maximalists”. (Four Bitcoin ETFs (BTC) may soon be available in the United States)
This opinion thus joins the long list of controversial criticisms of El Salvador and its president. It must be recognized that recently, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has suffered a veritable avalanche of repeated international criticism for his approach as a strong man in power.
A well-founded criticism?
According to Vitalik Buterin, the application of Bukele’s policy is poorly done. You cannot “offer BTC to millions of people” without “any prior education attempt”. It would have been necessary to prepare the ground, to initiate these people in the use of the currency to allow them to better understand the universe of cryptocurrencies. Lack of training will lead to scams and hacks.
Making the acceptance of a specific currency compulsory is first of all contrary to the ideals of freedom. It doesn’t make sense to force anyone to use BTC. Moreover, initially, article 7 of the Bitcoin law required any individual or business to use cryptocurrency if one of the parties requested it. But Bukele reversed the decision, preferring a bonus for BTC users. (China to Add Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Mining to ‘List of Prohibited Activities)
The new Salvadoran law received a favorable, almost festive reception in the world. In a way, this reaction was encouraged by the “Bitcoin maximalists”. However, the latter did not conduct any consultation with the Salvadorians, according to Buterin. Therefore, they have no right to give a festive look to this event.
The problem remains unresolved
Salvadoran Bitcoin Adoption Law (BTC) has created a great deal of controversy. It sparked protests earlier this year and sparked strong criticism over its implementation by the government. Add to this the criticism of President Nayib Bukele about his authoritarian tendencies and you will have a real heated debate! (What is the public key and the private key: Bitcoin (BTC))
In addition, President Bukele has been criticized in the past for his use of authoritarian tendencies, including using forceful tactics to get his agendas through the Legislature and calling himself a “dictator” on Twitter.
Bitcoin (BTC) adoption policies are taking their course in El Salvador, good times bad times. They arouse the admiration of certain states and political figures who plan to follow suit. But it is still too early to judge the impact that this will have on the only people who have not yet had the right to the chapter: the Salvadorians. Vitalik Buterin sides with them in saying that Mr. Bukele is not doing the right thing.
