Camarasal, a well known entrepreneur association in El Salvador, announced the results of a poll made this month. The poll shows almost 100% of Salvadorans worry about the implementation of the bitcoin tender law approved recently. Most criticize the obligatory character of receiving bitcoin payments and don’t expect this move to bring investment to the country.
Camarasal Poll Shows Concerns About Bitcoin Tender Law Implementation
A quick poll conducted by Camarasal, one of the biggest entrepreneur groups in El Salvador, is showing people have deep concerns about the future application of the Bitcoin Law. The poll got more than 1,600 answers in just four days from entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs. Camarasal president Jorge Hasbún stated on the massive participation that:
We believe that this excellent response is a reflection of how urgent this issue is for Salvadorans, in the sense of the implications it will have for the family economy on a day-to-day basis.
More than 96% of the entrepreneurs polled prefer an optional use of bitcoin for payments. The bitcoin tender law forces entrepreneurs to accept bitcoin for payments, as long as the entrepreneur manages the technological infrastructure to do so. In the same way, 45.3% indicated they were concerned that the circulation of cryptocurrency in the country is mandatory; while 35.9% assured that it generates mistrust.
Also, most of the entrepreneurs won’t keep the bitcoin received as payment for their goods and services: 51.6% of them answered they would exchange the bitcoin received for dollars. Bitcoin is a pretty volatile asset too, and that scares entrepreneurs that work with tight margins.
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Non-Entrepreneurs Also Skeptical About Bitcoin
Camarasal also polled non-entrepreneurs, but the answers were not optimistic either. About using bitcoin as a medium of exchange, 36% said they are concerned and 39% said they distrusted it. The topic of wages and remittances was also included in the poll. El Salvador is a remittance-intensive country, with 23% of the GDP coming from these, according to AP. 93.2% said that they do not want to receive their salary in cryptocurrency, while 82.5% assured that they are not interested in receiving remittances in bitcoin.
Salvadoreans are still lack training on bitcoin and its management, and that might be the key behind these unoptimistic answers. Camarasal vicepresident Carmen Alas stated:
It will be essential that there is a broad consultation with an interdisciplinary group that represents the sectors involved for the construction of the regulations that make this law operational
What do you think about Camarasal’s latest poll in El Salvador? Tell us in the comments section below.
