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Salvadorans Concerned about President’s Plan to Use Bitcoin

When El Salvador makes bitcoin a legal currency on September 7, it will become the first nation in the world to do so.

Bitcoin is decentralized, digital money that can be sent from user to user on the bitcoin network. Its value is not supported by any country's central bank. These forms of money are called cryptocurrency.

But in the "Excuartel" market of El Salvador's capital, sellers of goods are angry that officials have not come to explain how it will work.

The feeling of unease extends beyond San Salvador's "Excuartel" market into the Central American country of 6.4 million people.

"We don't know the currency. We don't know where it comes from. We don't know if it's going to bring us profit or loss," said Claudia Molina, a 42-year-old seller of T-shirts and souvenirs.

"They haven't given us training. They haven't told us what we're going to use or how to make the change," she added.

The government of President Nayib Bukele has placed one of 200 banking¹ machines at the "Excuartel" market. They are supposed to permit bitcoins to be withdrawn² or changed into U.S. dollars without paying extra costs.

Reuters news agency spoke³ to some traders and shoppers in the market. They said no official has explained how bitcoin works, so most say they will not use it, at least to begin with.

In July, three out of four Salvadorans had worries about the bitcoin plan, public opinion research showed.

Recently, about 300 protesters marched on El Salvador's Congress to demand that the new bitcoin law be stopped.

"Bukele, understand - in El Salvador we don't want bitcoin," said a sign carried by one protestor.

Another protestor, 29-year-old student Roxy Hernández, said most Salvadorans do not want to use bitcoin and do not understand the law.

The law states that sellers must accept bitcoin payments although Bukele has said it is not required for sellers or buyers of goods. "The bitcoin law is something arbitrary by the government," said Roxy.

Bukele has defended the law. He said that use of the digital currency will not be required in the country. He also said that bitcoin will permit Salvadorans who live in other countries to send money to their families without paying extra costs.

"Once it's in effect, people will see the benefits," Bukele wrote on his twitter account last week.

Critics of Bukele's plan say that using bitcoin is risky⁴ for two reasons. They say the cryptocurrency's value changes every day. They also worry that it could be used by corrupt⁵ officials to move money illegally.

"(The) bitcoin law promises many surprises," said Steve Hanke, an economist⁶ at Johns Hopkins University.

Hanke said it was "inconceivable" that the bitcoin plan could escape guidelines set out by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). It is an inter-governmental organization that fights the illegal movement of money by corrupt officials.

Since El Salvador started using the U.S. dollar as its currency in 2001, inflation has been just two percent, one of the lowest in Latin America. Higher inflation, critics argue, could come from the use of a cryptocurrency because its value changes often and by large amounts.

"I prefer the dollar, because we already know it and know it well, there's no problem. But as we don't know (bitcoin), we don't know how it will work," said Jose Guardado, a farmer in an area north of San Salvador.

The World Bank and the International Monetary⁷ Fund have pointed⁸ to environmental and transparency worries over the use of bitcoin. After the bitcoin law passed, credit rating agency Moody's lowered El Salvador's credit rating.

Hanke believes that Bukele's ideas will end with economic problems.

"For the United States, this would mean yet another wave of migrants from an unstable⁹ Central American failed state," he said.

Words in This Story

currency –n. the money that a country uses : a specific kind of money

digital –adj. using computer technology; created through electronic devices, not physically¹⁰ real

cryptocurrency –n. a kind of money that is exchanged only through computers and that is not supported by the government of any country

souvenir –n. something that is kept as a reminder¹¹ of a place you have visited or an event you have been to

arbitrary –adj. not planned or chosen for a particular reason

benefits - n. a good or helpful result or effect

inconceivable –adj. impossible to imagine or believe

transparency –n. the quality that makes something obvious or easy to understand

unstable –adj. likely to change

1 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

2 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

5 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

6 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

7 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

8 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

9 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

10 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

11 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。