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El Salvador abandons Bitcoin as legal tender

(ticotimes.net)
927 points smallerfish | 5 comments | 04 Feb 25 00:00 UTC | HN request time: 0.943s | source
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ggm ◴[04 Feb 25 00:12 UTC] No.42925329[source]▶
Speculative asset class fails as non-speculative legal tender class.

If king for the day with a sovereign wealth fund I wouldn't forbid investment choices like this on risk grounds, I mean you need risk assets as well as boring ones, right? But I have problems with the moral quality: it's like state investing in the casino business. Monaco? works fine. Anywhere else? It's got problems.

Like a lot of people, I probably fall into severe errors which would be bread and butter for "bad economics" reddit groups but truly, I can't see how this wasn't forseen and expected. It was about WHEN, not IF.

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1. odo1242 ◴[04 Feb 25 01:59 UTC] No.42926561[source]▶
It might have worked if El Salvador made their own cryptocurrency which they control and could mint more of and backed it properly as a non-speculative legal tender, but they didn’t and that didn’t happen.
replies(2): >>42926614 #>>42926704 #
2. fny ◴[04 Feb 25 02:03 UTC] No.42926614[source]▶
So... fiat?
replies(1): >>42927647 #
3. hammock ◴[04 Feb 25 02:11 UTC] No.42926704[source]▶
Correct. The IMF can’t run its debt trap/looting playbook without more currency control
replies(1): >>43031870 #
4. odo1242 ◴[04 Feb 25 03:50 UTC] No.42927647[source]▶
Yes. A "digital fiat" currency, basically. It could potentially incorporate privacy features from cryptocurrencies or replace digital payment providers. Or be a ginormous waste of time. I don't really know enough to tell you which one.
5. odo1242 ◴[13 Feb 25 01:46 UTC] No.43031870[source]▶
What playbook is this? Genuine question.