A Better Future for El Salvador Through Bitcoin — Nayib Bukele Stands Up to Global Institutions | by Sylvain Saurel | Dec, 2021

Tuesday, September 7, 2021, will forever remain a special day in the history of El Salvador. In the history of Bitcoin as well. It was on this day that El Salvador became the first country to make Bitcoin an official currency. Thanks to the boldness of its president, El Salvador has been experimenting with a Bitcoin standard for a little over three months now.

The fact that Nayib Bukele has chosen Bitcoin has not made only me happy among the powerful people at the head of the current monetary and financial system.

Several global institutions have threatened El Salvador. I am thinking here of the IMF (International Monetary Fund) or the World Bank. I am not even talking about America and other Western countries. All of these actors feel that something unique with Bitcoin is happening in El Salvador.

For the first time in decades, the people can benefit from a currency that belongs to them. Because that’s what Bitcoin is all about. No one can take your Bitcoin away from you as long as you have the associated private keys. Besides, Bitcoin protects you from monetary inflation, while allowing you to benefit from a fast, low-cost remittance system through the Lightning Network.

While Salvadorans make a huge living from the money sent home each year by the diaspora, Bitcoin is a game-changer. Gone are the $400 million in fees Salvadorans paid each year to giants like MoneyGram or Western Union, who were abusing the situation.

The daily life of Salvadorans has changed forever since September 7, 2021. All the eyes of the world are now focused on this small country that nobody talked about before. A first victory already. Wanting to turn the tables, Nayib Bukele has chosen to fully embrace the Bitcoin revolution by launching his country into green mining using the electricity produced from its volcanoes.

Nayib Bukele has also decided to create the first 100% Bitcoin city. He is doing everything to make his country attractive to Bitcoin entrepreneurs who also see this as a unique opportunity.

Despite all the good that Bitcoin has already brought to this country in such a short time, the powerful people at the head of the current system continue to spread false rumors that Nayib Bukele is a dictator who is imposing Bitcoin on his people. As a reminder, while Nayib Bukele did propose the Bitcoin law, it was the parliament of El Salvador that voted to implement it.

This is simply called democracy. For the IMF and the World Bank, there is a great risk that other countries will realize that a Bitcoin standard can help them improve the lives of their people. And this, while poor countries generally have little hope of changing their future in the current system.

These countries are doomed to survive. Nayib Bukele has chosen to enable his people to make a real living by seizing the unique opportunity of the Bitcoin revolution. We will see if El Salvador’s Bitcoin standard will continue to be a success in the future. Only time will tell, but the powers that be in the current system must agree to let each country decide its future without any pressure.

This is not how it works. So expect to hear many more times the powerful people at the head of the current system attacking El Salvador for trying to get out of the vicious circle of the impoverishment that is the current system. They are simply afraid of losing the unfair advantages inside the current système that is flawed, and not fixable.

What matters to Nayib Buekele is that his people have a better future. A recent poll conducted by the investigative unit of local newspaper La Prensa clearly shows that the people overwhelmingly support their president.

85.1% of those polled approve of the Bitcoin standard being experimented with in El Salvador by Nayib Bukele. These Salvadorans have confidence in what their country’s president is proposing to try to do: obtain a better future by seizing a unique opportunity. Only 12% partially or disapprove of Nayib Bukele’s initiative. The remaining 3% preferred not to express themselves.

The most interesting thing about this poll is that it was conducted by a newspaper in opposition to President Bukele. Imagine what it means if a poll conducted by the opposition gives Nayib Bukele an approval rating of more than 85% … It means that the approval rating is probably even higher than that in reality. But it doesn’t matter, because the trend is clear: the people overwhelmingly support Nayib Bukele.

So, although his cabinet is now under US sanctions, Nayib Bukele is holding firm. We must thank him for his strength of conviction. He is holding on because he has the support of the people and he knows that Bitcoin is the best chance for his country to change its future for the better.

There is no guarantee that Bitcoin will change the future of El Salvador as I have explained, but no one can blame Nayib Bukele for trying to change the destiny of his country and his people. That is the mark of great men.