74 percent of Salvadorans stated that they had not used bitcoin throughout 2022 to either make purchases or make payments. This is according to the latest survey by the University Institute of Public Opinion (IUDOP) of Jose Simeon Cañas Central American University (UCA).
The data shows that most Salvadorans believe that the Bitcoin economic policy by the Bukele administration has not given positive results to them or the country’s economy.
According to the survey, 65% responded that Bitcoin has not reflected any change in the country’s economy. The negative opinion towards Bitcoin is more visible as only 12% of respondents think Bitcoin has improved the economy, and 17% believe the economy has worsened with the approval of this cryptocurrency.
Additionally, only 5.1% responded that the primary beneficiary of the Bitcoin implementation was the people or the country. 48.2% believe the wealthy and foreign investors are the ones that have benefited the most from the Bitcoin implementation.
Of the 21% that responded yes to using Bitcoin in 2022, 31.2% said they handled the cryptocurrency only once, 12% twice, 16.5% three times, and 21.8% indicated they had used it five to ten times.
These survey results are nothing new; most Salvadorans disapprove of the cryptocurrency or haven’t used it. Two 2022 (LPG Datos and IUDOP) surveys show similar results as the latest one by the IUDOP.
Bitcoin became a legal tender in September 2021; its primary objectives were financial inclusion and facilitating the sending of remittances into the country. However, surveys have revealed that a good part of the Salvadoran population still does not use cryptocurrency.
The Bitcoin project by the Bukele administration is in its early stages, and time will tell if it was the right decision to implement it as a legal tender. However, since its popularity is low, the Bukele opposition wants the law repealed immediately.
This is not an invention of the opposition. The reality is that Bitcoin is not being used by the majority of Salvadorans, but the “investment” costs of this occurrence by the government are paid by all of us. The repeal of this law should be immediate.” Lourdes Colon, FMLN.
