Key facts: The population that follows Bukele's actions is the biggest beneficiary of BTC. The bulk of the population still does not see the advantages of bitcoin because they are in poverty. The impact of bitcoin (BTC) on the Salvadoran economic reality is palpable after three years of that policy being established by the government of Nayib Bukele, a model that has been copied even in the United States. According to surveys, a quarter of the Salvadoran population has already experienced the economic benefits of the largest digital asset on the market, which is currency, which has been legal tender in the Central American country for 3 years. According to the study by the University Institute of Public Opinion (IUOP), 24.7% of Salvadorans consider that BTC has helped them to some extent to “improve their family economic situation.”
According to the survey, which was conducted from May 20 to June 4, with national reach and a population of more than 1,200 people; bitcoin has allowed different families improve their economic situation. Above all, those family groups that closely follow the announcements and actions carried out by the Bukele government. The study highlights that to the extent that Salvadorans are benefited by the actions of the Bukele government, the level of trust increases and, in addition, have a more favorable opinion about Bitcoin policy.
In detail, the groups that follow official information have better perspectives regarding the country's economy and the influence of bitcoin on the family economy, according to the results of the IUOP survey. The improvement in the economic situation of a quarter of the Salvadoran population is reminiscent of the fact that in the United States they copied the Bukele model, with the Santa Monica city council voting unanimously in favor of creating a Bitcoin Office. As BitcoinDynamic reported, this office will follow the model implemented in El Salvador, promoting initiatives to favor the largest digital asset on the market.
A quarter of El Salvador's population says bitcoin has brought them benefits, according to IUOP survey data. Source: IUOP.
Not everything is rosy
However, not everything is rosy. According to IUOP research, while there are those who perceive the economic benefits of bitcoin on the Salvadoran economy, there are also those who believe that the influence of this asset is scarce or practically non-existent.
Thus, 66.6% of Salvadorans surveyed responded that bitcoin has not helped them “at all” to improve their family economic situation, according to the results of the IUOP survey. This agrees with the assertions of Salvadoran economist Tatiana Marroquín, who says that there is a “large population in poverty, economically vulnerable, that has no financial, social or mental space to get involved in bitcoin.” In statements to the EFE agency, the specialist highlighted that, after almost three years of the Bitcoin policy being established in El Salvador, “We can say that this government experiment has failed.”
She stated that the government's intention to promote the use of BTC on a daily basis in El Salvador did not work. And this is because the adoption of bitcoin «is not simply about having a digital wallet.» «El Salvador has had structural challenges for decades, it is the country that attracts the least foreign investment, the one that grows the least in the region, a trend that has even worsened in recent years,» warned the economist. Even so, the controversial «Bitcoin plus heavy hand» strategy of the Salvadoran president has become a magnet, leading to the creation of an El Salvador Caucus in the US Congress.
More and more awareness of bitcoin
The negative results of the IUOP survey, although they outline what bitcoin adoption is like in El Salvador, differ from what the grassroots communities in that country say and experience, where BTC has become increasingly well-known.
As explained by Mi Primer Bitcoin, the Salvadoran non-governmental organization dedicated to education about the largest digital asset on the market, Today Salvadorans are more aware that BTC exists.
Reyna Chicas, secretary of My First Bitcoin, recently said in a podcast that the level of awareness of Salvadorans regarding BTC has risen significantly since 2021.
This organization has a lot of influence in this, remembering that They have been responsible for training teachers and students about this new money, expanding throughout the corners of the Salvadoran land, where BTC has the status of legal tender. Added to this is the work of the National Bitcoin Office of El Salvador, whose objectives are to promote bitcoin education, organize events and encourage tourism. Goals also pursued by the Santa Monica office in the United States, created in the image and likeness of the Salvadoran entity.