An 88% of Salvadorans did not use Bitcoin in their transactions during 2023, even though it has been legal tender since 2021, a survey by the private Central American University (UCA) assured this Wednesday.
When asked, “in the year 2023, have you ever used Bitcoin to buy or pay for something or not?”, 85% said they did not use it, 3% have never used it, and 12% said they did use it.
With a margin of error of 2.7%, the survey, which was conducted with 1,280 people from across the country from December 9 to 22, found that 77.8% of the population says that with Bitcoin, the household economy “has remained the same,” 6.8% say it has improved, and for 8.4% it has worsened. 7% did not respond.
On September 7, 2021, at the initiative of President Nayib Bukele, El Salvador became the first country in the world to legally put Bitcoin into circulation alongside the United States dollar, which was established in 2001 as legal tender.
With Bitcoin, Bukele sought to reduce the cost of remittances from abroad and to massively bank the Salvadorans, 70% of whom were outside the financial system.
The Salvadoran government has publicly stated that it has purchased 2,381 Bitcoins, without revealing the amount invested. The last purchase was made on July 1, 2022, when it acquired 80 Bitcoins.
On Tuesday, the world’s leading cryptocurrency reached its highest value in 22 months, at 47,914 dollars per unit, after what ended up being a false publication attributed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the social network X, formerly Twitter, which announced the approval of Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
This Wednesday, the SEC authorized the first investment fund associated with Bitcoin, a decision considered as a fundamental stage for cryptocurrencies to be adopted.
