Pro-Bitcoin President Nayib Bukele took to Twitter to share his thoughts on Bloomberg’s latest article on El Salvador. The piece published on November 3rd, 2022 was supposed to summarize El Salvador’s Bitcoin (BTC) journey throughout the year. However, Bukele believes Bloomberg’s article is distant from reality, to say the least. Bukele declared: “This article is full of lies, which is standard for Bloomberg.”
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This article is full of lies, which is standard for Bloomberg…But what is most surprising is how the mainstream media suddenly cares so much about El Salvador.Corrupt politicians plundered 37 billion dollars from our state coffers and they never wrote one single article. https://t.co/bAf3tfKxIV— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) December 4, 2022
Be that as it may, El Salvador’s new approach managed to skyrocket its native and international tourism, as the country gets a fair amount of attention from both mass media and social media. Hence crypto enthusiasts from all over the world find the motivation to visit the country. For example, the Bitcoin Beach in El Zonte became the flagship in El Salvador’s BTC journey.
EL SALVADOR: Land of #Bitcoin and Beauty!El Zonte Beach #archiepix pic.twitter.com/rMcU0VaTfj— Bitcoin Archive (@BTC_Archive) September 16, 2022
El Salvador Safe Again?
Bloomberg’s article starts with the claim that BTC is nowhere to be found in the nation, and even adds in bold font: “Easier to find: Mass arrests and soldiers with machine guns.” It can be argued that this is taken out of context to portray El Salvador negatively.
In truth, El Salvador has curbed gang violence and homicides in the country with special troops. Previously leading the murder rate, El Salvador has dropped out of the TOP 10 this year, thanks to Bukele’s strict and unconventional methods. To illustrate, Soyapango, one of the country’s biggest cities, is surrounded by 10,000 troops right now.
The roadblock aims to wipe out gang activity in a city home to 290,000 people.
“The extraction teams from the police and the army are tasked with extricating all the gang members still there one by one”, - Bukele tweeted during the weekend. Ultimately, the gang violence pandemic in Latin America is still one of the main social issues in countries like Honduras, Venezuela, and Mexico. Whilst El Salvador can be a good example of fighting serious crime, it’s hardly covered by the mass media. On top of that, the country seeks to become the new fintech hub for Latin America, as many crypto talents decide to check it out for themselves.
@maxkeiser tells the story of how @Bitcoinbeach led to #Bitcoin becoming legal tender in ES.Congrats to the team involved, what a story!@romanmartinezc @jorgebitcoinES @HopeHousesv @jackmallers @paoloardoino @stacyherbert @Excellion @ElZonteCapital @nayibbukele pic.twitter.com/q52zTuKLJO— Cory Bates (@corybates1895) December 2, 2022
On the Flipside
- Nayib Bukele’s crypto portfolio is still 62% in the red. However, Minister of Finance Alejandro Zelaya explained the dropping price isn’t relevant, as it’s a long-term investment.
- At press time, El Salvador’s BTC investment has shrunk by $66.7 million due to the ongoing bear market.
Why You Should Care
El Salvador was the first country in the world to declare BTC legal tender. The developments in El Salvador are important to study to help grow further crypto adoption around the globe.
Read the latest crypto adoption stories from Latin America:
Brazil Adopts Cryptocurrency as a Means of Payment
Outstanding Argentine Women Receive NFTs as Awards