El Salvador landmark decision on flagship cryptocurrency, Bitcoin did lead to a spate of reactions both negative and positive back in May. The Bitcoin community on the social media platform, Reddit plans to throw its weight behind El Salvador with purchases of $30 worth of Bitcoin with fiat as the date for the latter’s Bitcoin distribution draws near.
Following the passage of the Bitcoin bill into law, making the top crypto asset a legal tender alongside the US dollar, president Nayib Bukele proposed distributing $30 worth of Bitcoin to El Salvadorans who download its Chivo Bitcoin wallet geared toward facilitating transactions in the digital asset among locals.
Bitcoin Proponents Globally to Purchase $30 Worth of the Asset
Announcing the development via his Twitter account, Bitcoin proponent, Alex Gladstein noted that people in sister country, Brazil and all over the world plan to convert $30 worth of their local fiat into Bitcoin on Tuesday in support of El Salvador. Gladstein had shared the link to the Bitcoin community on Reddit where the call to action was made. The community boasts 3.3 million users, likely to create a bullish effect on the price of Bitcoin if the plan goes through.
This brings to mind a similar call-to-action made earlier this year on the purchase of Gamestop stocks. The stocks community on Reddit had been behind the price surge on Gamestop stocks as they claimed they did it to spite Wall Street investors who had gone short on the stock hoping to bring the price down. Unfortunately, a move in the opposite direction would later short-squeeze a lot of short traders.
A similar incident occurred with meme cryptocurrency, Dogecoin which saw premeditated and coordinated buys helping the token display an impressive performance on its price.
As regards the planned buys on Bitcoin, Reddit user, thadiusb argued that on his part, he meant this as a gesture of support rather than a pump. It’s the first that a nation has adopted Bitcoin, he added. The Reddit user further reasoned that it was necessary to prove to those who were still indecisive about Bitcoin that the digital asset holds immense value for them.
Paraguay and Mexico Hesitate on Bitcoin Adoption
Although other countries in the region such as Mexico, Paraguay had indicated interest in filling the steps of El Salvador, they have adopted a wait-and-see approach monitoring the success of the project in El Salvador before they take further actions. Notably, in the last few weeks, the reactions of locals trailing the landmark decision have been critical, with a protest held last week to forestall the Bitcoin project. Citing corruption reasons, the participants at the protests argued that the project would not fly.
However, president Bukele has highlighted the benefits of the country’s Bitcoin law, saying it will make remittances easy, especially for those outside the country as they try to send money to their relatives and families.
International organizations such as the IMF has severely highlighted the negative implications of El Salvador’s Bitcoin adoption stating that it has the potential to destabilize the country’s economy.
