was too volatile and would allow businesses to "launder ill-gotten
money."
Protesters calling themselves the Popular Resistance and Rebellion
Block have come out against El Salvador’s government passing a law
making Bitcoin legal tender.
A Tuesday tweet from local news outlet El Mundo shows
El Salvadorians carrying banners saying “no to Bitcoin” in the streets
of San Salvador demanding a repeal of the country's Bitcoin law.
Legislative assembly members Anabel Belloso and Dina Argueta addressed
the protesters after first meeting the group separated by a barrier of
razor wire.
In a letter made available at the protest, the Popular Resistance and
Rebellion Block group claimed that President Nayib Bukele passed the
law making the cryptocurrency legal tender in the country without proper
consultations with the people. It also cited the volatility of Bitcoin (BTC),
comparing investing in the cryptocurrency to playing the lottery:
“betting on the lottery is a voluntary act, while Bitcoin is required by
law.”
Related: Coercion and coexistence: How El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law may change global finance
However,
the group’s main grievance around the Bitcoin legal framework seemed to
be centered around a perceived disparity in the cryptocurrency’s usage
by the government when compared with the average resident in El
Salvador. Protesters said Bitcoin “only serves some large businessmen,
especially those linked to the government, to launder ill-gotten money.”
“Entrepreneurs
who put their capital in Bitcoin will not pay taxes on their earnings,”
said the letter. “In addition, to apply Bitcoin the government will
spend millions of dollars of the taxes paid by the people.”
They added:
"Bitcoin
would facilitate public corruption and the operations of drug, arms and
human traffickers, extortionists and tax evaders. It would also cause
monetary chaos. It would hit people's salaries, pensions and savings,
ruin many MSMEs, affect low-income families and hit the middle class."
Though passed by El Salvador’s government
and signed into law by Bukele in June, the law recognizing Bitcoin as
legal currency in the country will not go into effect until Sept. 7. The
Popular Resistance and Rebellion Block’s protest was aimed at
government officials to demand the law be repealed. In addition, the
World Bank has also refused to help El Salvador transition to a Bitcoin-friendly framework, given its “environmental and transparency shortcomings.”
Related: What is really behind El Salvador’s ‘Bitcoin Law’? Experts answer
During
a scheduled visit by the U.S. State Department earlier this month,
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland suggested El Salvador ensure Bitcoin is well regulated
and transparent, but did not explicitly say anything against the
country’s move to a more digital economy. Some proponents of the law
including Bukele have suggested Bitcoin could help facilitate remittance
payments from El Salvador citizens living abroad and lessen the
country’s reliance on the U.S. dollar.
source link : https://cointelegraph.com/news/el-salvadorians-take-to-the-streets-to-protest-bitcoin-law
