The landing of bitcoin in El Salvador faces a new setback. The Ministry of Finance reported that the trust with which it will seek to affirm the convertibility of bitcoin to dollar will be financed with US$ 150 million from the general fund. However, economists say that this amount will not be enough and others are completely against using general funds for said company. Óscar Cabrera, former president of the Central Reserve Bank, declared: "They are using $ 150 million of our taxes, which could well be used more in this pandemic to purchase vaccines or medical supplies, than to guarantee a cryptoactive.”

In addition to internal criticism, the World Bank rejected the Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s request to help implement bitcoin as legal tender. The reasons are the lack of transparency of the process and the environmental impact of mining.

In any case, the government continued its crusade to incorporate cryptocurrency into the Salvadoran economy. For this it received a delegation of thirty entrepreneurs interested in investing in the country due to the recent approval of the Bitcoin Law. However, this act was also in the spotlight because one of the entrepreneurs of the delegation was Brock Pierce, who proclaimed himself "leader of  Bitcoin ambassadors." In addition to having competed in the presidential elections, Pierce is being investigated because of his cryptocurrency Tether, which presented irregularities related to the concealment of losses for US$ 850 million.

Expedited approval. The reality is that the process is moving very fast. On June 5, President Bukele announced his plan to embrace cryptocurrency during a Bitcoin conference held in Miami. The president assured that all businesses, from hairdressers to banks, could pay with this currency without anyone rejecting the form of payment. Four days later, the Salvadoran Congress approved the Bitcoin Law.

The biggest criticism of the regulation itself is its mandatory nature: this was highlighted by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of El Salvador. At its last meeting, it presented a survey where 96% of 1,668 people (712 of them entrepreneurs) were against the mandatory use of bitcoin and 49% are concerned about it.

The main reason given by the president for his decision is that the adoption of cryptocurrency as a legal tender will facilitate money transfers by Salvadorans living outside the country. Remittances are a very important part of the economy of El Salvador, 20% of its Gross Domestic Product. There are more than two million Salvadorans who live abroad and send money to their country of origin: this represents more than US$ 4 billion a year.

But one of the main problems with bitcoin is its volatility and making it a mandatory currency can put the country's economy at risk, according to experts. Another concern is the possibility that El Salvador will become a tax haven, according to the current president of the Foundation for the Development of Central America, Facundo Cabrera, who also added: "Here we are going to create a financial bubble and this bubble can be broken sooner or later with negative impacts on the living conditions of the Salvadoran population."

How quickly important decisions are being made and the lack of knowledge in society about these issues is also disconcerting. Nor did they think about those Salvadorans who do not have access to the internet or an electronic device. On the other hand, other laws that may be affected were not reviewed, for example the Law Against Money and Asset Laundering, which may now fall short as far as bitcoin is concerned.