In the country’s capital, protesters claimed that they have been defrauded by Bitcoin.
A Bitcoin ATM has been set on fire during a fresh round of anti-crypto protests on the streets of El Salvador.
In the country’s capital, protesters claimed that they were defrauded by Bitcoin — and said they were against living in a dictatorship.
That’s in response to sweeping changes to the constitution that have been proposed by the government — one of which will allow President Nayib Bukele to seek a second term in 2024.
City workers were later pictured cleaning up graffiti and debris ahead of a fireworks display in San Salvador to mark the 200th anniversary of the country’s founding.
Wednesday’s unrest suggests that, even though the Bitcoin Law has come into force, demonstrators are determined to make their voices heard.
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A Rushed Decision?
Critics and a number of opposition politicians have claimed that El Salvador rushed the decision to embrace Bitcoin as legal tender.
Indeed, President Nayib Bukele himself admitted that it was “too high a challenge” to get all of the necessary infrastructure in place within three months.
Earlier this week, Bukele said that ongoing issues with the government’s official Chivo wallet were “95% fixed” — and that Salvadorans were being prohibited from registering on the app until the problems were resolved.
Speaking to the CoinMarketRecap podcast last week, crypto journalist David Gerard said Bukele is widely popular among the country’s population because he has spent lots of public money on new services — but added that his decision to “force” Bitcoin on consumers has not gone down well.
