Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele Promises Bitcoin Law Won't Be Forced on Citizens

On August 23, the president of El Salvador spoke about the upcoming bitcoin tender law set to take effect on September 7. Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele said that bitcoin will not be mandated by force and “if they want” they can accept bitcoin and they can say “no” if they are not interested in using the cryptocurrency.

Salvadorans Won’t Be Forced to Use Bitcoin Against Their Will, Says President Nayib Bukele

In just over two weeks or 15 days, the bitcoin tender law in El Salvador should take effect. Since the supermajority in the Salvadoran congress passed the law, there’s been a lot of speculation as to whether or not it will work out.

Nayib Bukele tweeted about the matter on August 23, 2021, and explained to his 2.8 million Twitter followers that the bitcoin law would not be mandatory. There’s been a lot of criticism toward the law possibly forcing citizens to use bitcoin (BTC) against their will.

“This will be what happens on September 7,” Bukele said. “People will be able to download an application to receive payments or gifts in bitcoin or U.S. dollars. If they want they will download the app, and if they don’t want to, no,” the Salvadoran president added. Bukele added:

“With this application, you can accept payments in bitcoin or in DOLLARS, open a small business and run it from there, receive money from family or friends and send and receive remittances without paying a single penny of commission to anyone.”

Bitcoin Bank Branches, Crypto ATMs, or Use Western Union and Pay Commission

Ever since El Salvador’s president initiated the idea of legalizing bitcoin as the Salvadoran national tender, opinions have surfaced about the country’s choice. Bank of America outlined a few benefits El Salvador could see by adopting BTC while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) gave some negative sentiment toward the idea.

A group of Salvadorans protested the new law and a survey conducted in July had shown a majority of Salvadorans said they were skeptical of bitcoin as a currency. Just recently, one of the Big Three credit rating agencies, Fitch Ratings, published a report on why the credit agency does not think adopting bitcoin is a good idea.

Bukele’s tweetstorm on Monday, makes it sound like things will be all gravy, and he stressed that if Salvadorans wanted to “go to the Western Union queue and pay commission. There is no problem.” Bukele also emphasized that a “Salvadoran abroad will be able to send money INSTANTLY to their relatives in El Salvador.”

Bukele added:

All the bitcoin that you receive will be automatically converted into dollars (if you wish) and you can leave it in your electronic wallet or withdraw it in cash at any of the 200 ATMs that will be everywhere. There will also be 50 branches to withdraw or deposit money. The #Puntos Chivo they are being built everywhere. There they will be able to receive help on how to use the application, how [to use] bitcoin, how to withdraw or deposit money, how to use ATMs, and how to receive money from anywhere in the world.

Bukele also shared a photograph of a great number of bitcoin automated teller machines (ATMs) ready to be deployed.

“There will also be [ATMs] everywhere and you can withdraw in CASH, 24 hours a day and WITHOUT COMMISSIONS, even if the opposition says otherwise,” Bukele insisted. “The problem for them is that they will be able to convince some people that there will be commissions, but only until the 7th.”