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El Salvador's crypto experiment ends in failure

(www.economist.com)
151 points jcartw | 5 comments | 09 Mar 25 21:58 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source
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dexter0 ◴[09 Mar 25 22:56 UTC] No.43314816[source]▶
Key points:

> Despite these profits, crypto has brought El Salvador more costs than benefits. The free publicity has been welcome, yet crypto-investment and crypto-tourism have been small beer. Gains in financial inclusion and from more efficient payments are meagre at best: the currency never really caught on. In 2022, when the hype was at its peak, a survey by CID-Gallup found that only a fifth of firms accepted bitcoin and just 5% of tax payments were in crypto.

> Moreover, the policy cost $375m in all—from the Chivo rollout, subsidised transaction fees, bitcoin ATMs and more—according to Moody’s, a rating agency. That far exceeds the profits on bitcoin holdings, which could still evaporate. By delaying an IMF deal, the crypto experiment kept El Salvador’s risk premium high.

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1. ty6853 ◴[09 Mar 25 23:54 UTC] No.43315223[source]▶
375 minus like 287 in unrealized gains. My next question is are they still behind once you consider the market value of the ATM and other investments. I doubt it's a total write off.
replies(1): >>43315461 #
2. rafram ◴[10 Mar 25 00:22 UTC] No.43315461[source]▶
Who’s realistically going to buy 400 or so bitcoin ATMs (must pick up in El Salvador)? ATMs aren’t a high-margin business.
replies(1): >>43315540 #
3. ty6853 ◴[10 Mar 25 00:33 UTC] No.43315540[source]▶
I don't trust El Salvador. I also don't trust the people indicting their policy. I hope to God they have more than 400 ATM to show for 375M. Surely there is more to it.
replies(1): >>43316776 #
4. rafram ◴[10 Mar 25 03:36 UTC] No.43316776{3}[source]▶
I was wrong - they actually only have 215 of them: https://cointelegraph.com/news/poland-overtakes-el-salvador-...

It was just bad, showboaty policy from a showboaty strongman leader. Why would you give him the benefit of the doubt even now?

replies(1): >>43317130 #
5. ty6853 ◴[10 Mar 25 04:54 UTC] No.43317130{4}[source]▶
I don't want to give him the benefit but I also question how even a strongman can justify over $1M per ATM. My alarm bells are ringing that I'm missing something.