In El Salvador, what can individuals buy using Bitcoin?
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Since Bitcoin became legal tender in El Salvador, there has been a lot of development, and we look at what El Salvadorans may buy with the cryptocurrency.
Because Bitcoin is the country’s official currency, most companies must now accept it alongside the country’s other official currency, the US dollar.
People must download the Chivo digital wallet and register with a national identity number in order to utilize the cryptocurrency as payment.
Citizens can pay for things from international corporations operating in El Salvador, such as Pizza Hut and Starbucks, as well as pay for bills from Claro, a mobile phone operator.
Another establishment that takes Bitcoin is McDonald’s, with the public also being able to pay cab charges with the cryptocurrency.
El Salvador is expanding the number of businesses that take Bitcoin, indicating that the government is completely committed to the digital economy today and in the future.
While some El Salvadorans have welcomed President Nayib Bukele’s forward-thinking character, the country has been damaged by hundreds of protesters protesting the move to declare Bitcoin legal money.
Protesters carried posters condemning Bukele’s decision and describing the country’s political state as a “dictatorship,” with others resorting to property destruction by torching Bitcoin ATMs.
While El Salvador has taken advantage of market troughs to buy additional Bitcoin, doubts have been raised about the country’s strategy for dealing with the cryptocurrency market’s volatility.
Because the country presently holds $38 million in Bitcoin, a market meltdown might have disastrous effects for the country’s economy.
El Salvador’s vice president, Félix Ulloa, said an anonymous Swiss corporation offered to acquire the country’s Bitcoin hoard for $50,000 per unit in a futures contract, independent of the current market value.
El Salvador and Bitcoin are still in the early stages of their relationship, but for the time being, the country’s citizens may use Bitcoin to pay for a range of goods.