Protesters referring to themselves as the Rebellion Block and Popular Resistance have come forth against the government of El Salvador approving a law deeming Bitcoin a legal medium of exchange.
A Tweet posted on Tuesday via a domestic news outlet displays El Salvadorians holding up banners with “no to Bitcoin” sprawled all over them in the San Salvador streets calling for a repeal of the nation’s newly established Bitcoin law. Assembly members of the legislation Dina Argueta and Anabel Belloso acknowledged the protestor after initially meeting with the group. However, they were segregated by a razor-wire barrier.
In a letter published during the protest, the Rebellion Block group and Popular Resistance group maintained that their president Nayib Bukele had approved the law, making the digital currency a legal mode of payment in the nation without referring to proper discussions his people. It was also mentioned the volatility of the digital currency. It had compared buying into the digital currency to taking part in a lottery. It further stated that taking part in the lottery is a voluntary act; Bitcoin, on the other hand, is mandated by law.
The group’s primary complaint around the Bitcoin legislative framework happened to be centered around a rather observed disparity in the digital currency’s usage at the hands of the government when contrasted with the average citizen in El Salvador. Protestors stated that Bitcoin only caters to a certain number of powerful businesspeople, particularly those associated with the government, to launder illegally obtained money.
The letter also stated that entrepreneurs putting in their investments on Bitcoin will not have to pay taxes on their returns. Aside from that, to apply Bitcoin, the administration will be spending millions in taxes paid by ordinary citizens.
Although approved by the government of El Salvador and brought into law by President Bukele this June, the law acknowledging Bitcoin as a legalized currency in the nation will not be functional until the 7th of September. The Rebellion Block and Popular Resistance’s protest was to draw attention towards that magistrate to demand the law to be repealed. The World Bank has also declined to help El Salvador from evolving into a Bitcoin-friendly structure, taking into consideration its transparency and environmental disparities.
The letter had also mentioned that Bitcoin’s legalization would most likely accelerate the operations of arms, drugs, and human traffickers as well as tax evaders and extortionists.
