El Salvador's President, Nayib Bukele, recently shared that the country's adoption of Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender has not lived up to his initial hopes.
During an interview with Time magazine, published on August 29, Bukele admitted that while the adoption of Bitcoin in El Salvador has been a "net positive," it hasn't been as widespread as he anticipated.
He observed that many Salvadorans use the cryptocurrency, and large businesses, such as McDonald's, accept it, yet overall adoption has fallen short of the government's expectations.
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However, Bukele emphasized:
The positive aspect is that it is voluntary; we have never forced anyone to adopt it. We offered it as an option, and those who chose to use it have benefited from the rise in Bitcoin.
He acknowledged that more could be done to integrate Bitcoin into daily life but stressed that it is fine if people prefer not to use it, highlighting that El Salvador remains a free country.
Bukele also addressed criticism of his leadership style. Reflecting on being labeled authoritarian, he said:
Everything in life has a cost, and being called authoritarian doesn't bother me much. I don't like it, but it doesn't keep me up at night either.
Bukele first attracted attention from the crypto community when he announced plans for El Salvador to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender during the 2021 Bitcoin Conference in Miami.
Since then, he has pushed for initiatives to make the country a hub for cryptocurrency, including developing a "Bitcoin City" and launching a training program to educate Salvadoran public servants on BTC.
As Bukele is expected to remain in office until 2029, the future of Bitcoin in El Salvador remains a topic of global interest, even with the current challenges in achieving widespread adoption.
