Last month, El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele proposed a bill to make Bitcoin a legal tender. The bill was passed by the Salvadoran Legislative Council on June 9.
Amid all the hype around the move, it appears the development has not gone down well with most of the country’s citizens, with very few sharing the president’s optimism about Bitcoin.
According to a poll conducted by pollster Disruptiva, three-quarter of the country’s population are not excited over adopting Bitcoin (BTC) as its legal tender.
Reuters reported that a total of 1,233 people were surveyed between July 1 and July 4. The survey revealed that only 20% approved of the plan to legalize Bitcoin for official transactions. Almost half (46%) of the respondents had no idea about Bitcoin, while about 65% didn’t buy the idea of doing transactions in digital currencies.
In a tweet on June 9, President Bukele confirmed that plans are in place to implement the approved bill, and Bitcoin would be mandatory for all businesses.
“The Bitcoin Law has been approved by a super majority in the Salvadoran Congress […] It goes into effect immediately,” he said, clarifying the government would allow 90 days for the infrastructure to be put into place.
[Salvadoran traders] have to take it by law …If you go to Mexico; they have to take your pesos […] In the case of El Salvador, Bitcoin is going to be legal tender just as the U.S. dollar.