In El Salvador, businesses that reject bitcoin will be sanctioned

Javier Argueta, legal advisor to the President of El Salvador said on Monday that firms that refuse to accept Bitcoin and utilise the national Chivo wallet will face fines under the country’s Consumer Protection Law, according to local media reports. Argueta’s latest statement contradicts Bukele’s August 23 Twitter thread, in which he makes it clear that the use of Bitcoin would be voluntary: “If someone wants to continue carrying cash, not receive a sign-on bonus, not win over customers who have bitcoin, not grow their business, and pay commission on remittances, they can do so.”

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On September 7, El Salvador became the first country to accept Bitcoin as its official currency alongside the US dollar, given the country does not have its own currency. The president also said that El Salvador would offer citizenship to people who have invested in at least 3 bitcoins. 

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Members of the opposition have not overlooked the discrepancy. Anabel Belloso, an FMLN representative, accused the administration of lying.

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Bukele’s Bitcoin Law was enacted by the Legislative Assembly on June 8, immediately after the president presented it. The bill became a major cause of contention both within and outside of El Salvador, with critics focusing their outrage mostly on the very contentious Article 7, which requires merchants to accept Bitcoin.

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Protests were organized by Bukele’s opponents in response to the Bitcoin experiment. In what looks to be a desperate last-ditch effort, a tiny group of the president’s opponents recently turned to witchcraft to curse the leader of a country and his family. Some people are worried recalling how many poor people suffered in 2001 when the country adopted the US dollar.

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It isn’t simply the opposing party. As previously reported, a recent survey reveals that 70% of Salvadorans want the controversial measure repealed. Further, a whopping 99 percent of all respondents feel that shops should accept Bitcoin exclusively on a voluntary basis.