The mistrust that clouded the courageous roll-out as well as the widespread dip of the cryptocurrency market points to the increasing role of external variables in determining the value of money.
The $30-in-bitcoin ‘bribe’ extended to every Salvadorian is also metaphoric of the emerging concept of money as a store of value, not only for the South American country but for other future adopters of the digital currency and businesses that are already accepting cryptocurrency payment. Few hours into the roll-out, the $30-incentives had shrunk to $25 as the coin dived from $52, 000 to $43, 000 in an hour amidst the hysteria and glitch around the functionality of the digital wallet.
In the run-up to the adoption, the El-Salvadorian government’s mop-up of the market to stock for its not-too-eager citizens among other factors had pumped the value of the flagship cryptocurrency to a three-month high. The historic adoption should, by logic, drive the consolidation of the uptrend of the past few weeks. Unfortunately, there is no science or logic in the crypto world. Hence the sudden dip – the steepest fall in recent history – could only shock a Salvadoran who was holding the electronic currency for the first time.
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