Most active commenters

    ←back to thread

    El Salvador abandons Bitcoin as legal tender

    (ticotimes.net)
    927 points smallerfish | 13 comments | 04 Feb 25 00:00 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source | bottom
    Show context
    portaouflop ◴[04 Feb 25 02:07 UTC] No.42926658[source]▶
    IMF gave them 1.4 billion to abandon the “experiment”:

    > The IMF made this a condition for a loan of 1.4 billion US dollars (1.35 billion euros). In December of last year, the IMF reached an agreement with President Nayib Bukele’s government on the loan of the stated amount to strengthen the country’s “fiscal sustainability” and mitigate the “risks associated with Bitcoin,” as it was described.

    —-

    I dislike cryptocurrencies as much as the next guy but this was clearly something else than a failure of the currency itself

    replies(30): >>42926697 #>>42926752 #>>42926769 #>>42926916 #>>42927021 #>>42927075 #>>42927122 #>>42927290 #>>42927312 #>>42927357 #>>42927505 #>>42927532 #>>42927536 #>>42927642 #>>42927745 #>>42927985 #>>42928058 #>>42928513 #>>42928720 #>>42928756 #>>42928806 #>>42929654 #>>42929949 #>>42930337 #>>42930726 #>>42930753 #>>42930779 #>>42930984 #>>42934734 #>>42935466 #
    stephen_g ◴[04 Feb 25 02:17 UTC] No.42926769[source]▶
    Despite that interference, from everything I’ve read though it’s hard to describe the bitcoin experiment as anything else than a massive failure…
    replies(4): >>42926864 #>>42926901 #>>42927899 #>>42933006 #
    kylebenzle ◴[04 Feb 25 02:24 UTC] No.42926864[source]▶
    Yeh, it failed so hard no one even uses it anymore.
    replies(4): >>42927136 #>>42927268 #>>42927322 #>>42928839 #
    1. EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK ◴[04 Feb 25 03:12 UTC] No.42927322[source]▶
    The article says "92% of Salvadorans did not use bitcoin in their transactions in 2024". Which means that 8% did use it in their transactions.
    replies(6): >>42927455 #>>42927633 #>>42927907 #>>42928132 #>>42928168 #>>42930408 #
    2. pasquinelli ◴[04 Feb 25 03:27 UTC] No.42927455[source]▶
    this is the funniest way to reply
    3. nicbou ◴[04 Feb 25 03:48 UTC] No.42927633[source]▶
    I wonder what volume of all transactions it represents. I've used Swiss Franc this year but it's a fraction of a percent of all my transactions.
    4. chii ◴[04 Feb 25 04:22 UTC] No.42927907[source]▶
    it is probably the same with gold - in fact, i say gold is used even less in transactions. Yet, nobody would deny that gold cannot form a good monetary foundation . Of course, it's not the best - fiat is still, imho, better - but it doesn't mean it can't work.

    So why is the IMF so against bitcoins that they'd rather pay to eliminate it? Or are the IMF scared that bitcoin can actually succeed, in a way which prevents IMF members from asserting monetary pressure in ways that benefits them?

    replies(3): >>42928023 #>>42928035 #>>42928103 #
    5. freen ◴[04 Feb 25 04:37 UTC] No.42928023[source]▶
    Ahh yes, the age old “let’s use a precious metal to denominate our currency” idea.

    Cryptocurrency bros are literally speedrunning the entirety of monetary system failures. All of them. You’d think, maybe after the first couple they’d read a book or something?

    Heck no! YOLO!

    replies(1): >>42934461 #
    6. ◴[04 Feb 25 04:39 UTC] No.42928035[source]▶
    7. dragonwriter ◴[04 Feb 25 04:48 UTC] No.42928103[source]▶
    > Yet, nobody would deny that gold cannot form a good monetary foundation

    I wouldn’t say nobody (fools exist), but, sure, only a fool would deny the statement “gold cannot form a good monetary system”.

    But... Isn't that the opposite of your Bitcoin claim?

    8. cloudbonsai ◴[04 Feb 25 04:51 UTC] No.42928132[source]▶
    In 2021, the percentage of Salvadorans who were using Bitcoin was 26%. After three years of mandatory acceptance requirement, it's now 8%.

    It says a lot about the popularity of Bitcoin, no?

    replies(1): >>42928185 #
    9. j16sdiz ◴[04 Feb 25 04:55 UTC] No.42928168[source]▶
    8% use at least one.

    The government literally give (almost) everybody $30 in btc to promote this, 8% is too low

    10. j16sdiz ◴[04 Feb 25 04:57 UTC] No.42928185[source]▶
    ...had used at least once, not "using"

    The government were giving out btc

    11. genem9 ◴[04 Feb 25 09:57 UTC] No.42930408[source]▶
    8% is huge
    12. robertlagrant ◴[04 Feb 25 16:23 UTC] No.42934461{3}[source]▶
    Just to be clear, people who have downvoted you are likely doing so because of tone and attitude, not because they're pro-bitcoin.
    replies(1): >>42983494 #
    13. ◴[08 Feb 25 15:20 UTC] No.42983494{4}[source]▶