El Salvador abandons Bitcoin as legal tender

Post by olalonde » Tue, Feb 04, 2025, 3:52 AM UTC

throw_pm23 wrote: post #69

ptero wrote: post #17

That's heavy editorializing: El Salvador keeps buying the Bitcoin for its strategic reserve. Businesses and citizens can keep using it. But for getting an IMF loan, IMF (which, to put it mildly, doesn't like Bitcoin) required the end to Bitcoin legal tender status. Now the businesses are free to accept it or not instead of being required to accept it. That's all. The government plans to keep buying and using it.

Why do they need an IMF loan? (that's typically a sign of the economy not doing great)

Post by bangaladore » Tue, Feb 04, 2025, 3:53 AM UTC

liontwist wrote: post #291

bangaladore wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A better way to put it is that a deflationary currency is, counterintuitively, not a particularly good currency. The reality is, Bitcoin and similar, are not being used to actually purchase things. Not at any notable percentage. You're "best bet" is to horde it, and that doesn't make a good currency.

I come to these threads expecting criticism about bitcoin being funny internet money run by a small group of shady characters. But most of the comments are about how stable currency and stores of wealth are actually bad! It kind of sounds like we think bitcoin is working. If USD is inflating and Gold is staying still, is gold “deflating”?

Post by wruza » Tue, Feb 04, 2025, 3:54 AM UTC

1970-01-01 wrote: post #319

Kindra wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you able to point to a single case where Bitcoin was used as legal tender in an every day business transaction? By this I mean, can you give an example where someone ordered a cup of coffee with Bitcoin directly and not through a proxy?

100% this. Food, medicine, transportation, education, and everything else at or near the bottom of Maslow's pyramid of needs still cannot be directly purchased with bitcoin. The other punchline to the Bitcoin joke is that it's finite. In 120 years it will begin to evaporate from existence as more and more wallets are simply lost to time.

Post by shash » Tue, Feb 04, 2025, 3:56 AM UTC

GamerUncle wrote: post #330

1970-01-01 wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100% this. Food, medicine, transportation, education, and everything else at or near the bottom of Maslow's pyramid of needs still cannot be directly purchased with bitcoin. The other punchline to the Bitcoin joke is that it's finite. In 120 years it will begin to evaporate from existence as more and more wallets are simply lost to time.

>The other punchline to the Gold joke is that it's finite. In 120 years it will begin to evaporate from existence as more and more gold chests are simply lost to time. This is how insane that sounds

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Feb 04, 2025, 3:57 AM UTC

freedomben wrote: post #294

Kindra wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you able to point to a single case where Bitcoin was used as legal tender in an every day business transaction? By this I mean, can you give an example where someone ordered a cup of coffee with Bitcoin directly and not through a proxy?

I used to pay my dish network bill with it before they stopped accepting it. I've also used it to send money to friends and family, and to donate to open source projects and other things. If the fees were lower I'd use it for plenty of other things too.