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El Salvador's crypto experiment ends in failure

(www.economist.com)
151 points jcartw | 1 comments | 09 Mar 25 21:58 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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merek ◴[10 Mar 25 00:23 UTC] No.43315468[source]▶
For an excellent analysis of Bukele and life on the ground in El Salvador, I highly recommend Matt Lakeman's notes:

https://mattlakeman.org/2024/03/30/notes-on-el-salvador/

Specifically on Bitcoin:

> This guide also told me that he immediately spent his $30 Bitcoin gift from the government on beer and hasn’t possessed a single Satoshi since.

> I saw maybe four or five Bitcoin ATMs in El Salvador, including two Athena Bitcoin machines. I didn’t see anyone using them.

> The guide, who I consider an articulate and strong supporter of Bukele, seemed to consider the president’s Bitcoin ambitions to be a weird, misguided, but ultimately trivial effort.

replies(1): >>43327566 #
1. petertodd ◴[10 Mar 25 23:50 UTC] No.43327566[source]▶
> I saw maybe four or five Bitcoin ATMs in El Salvador, including two Athena Bitcoin machines. I didn’t see anyone using them.

I've visited El Salvador quite a few times and traveled a decent % of the country, including non-touristy areas. I've seen plenty of Bitcoin ATMs in El Salvador. In some areas they aren't busy. But in other areas they have consistent line-ups of _locals_ using them. And yes, I said locals, not tourists. I'm not sure why the locals use them so much. But remittances is one possibility.

If all Bitcoin managed to do was force the likes of Western Union to keep their fees low via competition, it'd be a success for El Salvador. As of 2023, about 24% of El Salvador's entire GDP is remittances.

> The guide, who I consider an articulate and strong supporter of Bukele, seemed to consider the president’s Bitcoin ambitions to be a weird, misguided, but ultimately trivial effort.

Of course, let's put all this Bitcoin stuff in perspective: Bukele's legacy will most likely be ending gang violence. I consider the Bitcoin stuff a mild success; ending gang violence has radically transformed the country for the better.