Just last week, it was reported that El-Salvador had adopted Bitcoin as a legal tender. A move that saw the value of the cryptocurrency drop drastically.
Reports currently making rounds indicate that the decision is not sitting well with the people of El-Salvador who in thousands have now taken to the streets to protest the decision.
Many of the citizens, according to reports, fear that the decision to make Bitcoin a legal tender will have an adverse effect on the already ailing economy of the country.
President Nayib Bukele announced the decision early this month and also went as far as holding 400 bitcoins, one day before the country formally adopted it as legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar.
Bukele while backing the decision said that the move will enable Salvadorans working abroad to send money back home.
However, protesters have expressed fears that the decision will bring instability and inflation, thereby adding to the country’s economic woes.
Protesters have been seen setting fire on new Bitcoin machines, while others held signs reading “Bukele Dictator”.
According to the BBC, the demonstrators gathered in the capital San Salvador on the 200th anniversary of the country’s independence, brandishing placards reading “No to Bitcoin” and “Respect the Constitution”.
They accuse the president of using authoritarian means to tighten his grip on power.
A protester Dora Rivera while speaking with Reuters news agency said, “It’s important to say this morning: Enough already! What the government is doing is arrogant, it is authoritarianism.”
However, Mr. Bukele still holds the support of the majority in El-Salvador with a newspaper poll conducted recently showing that 85.7% of people want him to continue as the president.
