Haven't watched yet. The time is now 😎 Thanks!
Interesting video by nostr:npub1lr2zzf989mvf393y0tv39ara6a4vddkd6y87z784up9vl6ks6j3qtudl6a on where #Bitcoin merchant adoption in El Salvador stands today, especially in light of recent changes to the Bitcoin Law, reportedly influenced by IMF pressure. While the sample size is small—just 21 stores—it reveals some key takeaways. First, Chivo Wallet seems to have done more harm than good. Its poor user experience made rejecting Bitcoin payments easier, especially without proper education. For many merchants, a bad first impression became a lasting one.
Second, apathy toward the Bitcoin Law was evident among many profiled merchants. Whether this stemmed from poor implementation or a lack of education is unclear, though the latter likely played a bigger role.
Ultimately, while Bitcoin’s use is a personal choice, its true power lies in being a medium of exchange. If this function isn’t realized, fiat will likely evolve into #CBDCs—tightening financial control even further.
Check out the video and draw your own conclusions.
Discussion
Hm. Interesting indeed. However two important points: I don’t really see the point in focusing on big shopping malls to check on adoption 😅—especially with global corporations/brands that probably operate under specific regulations on their own. (My private experience in at least San Salvador was different, most of places did accept bitcoin). And sure, I don't like the statement 'who cares' about the recent IMF deal ... once you dig a bit deeper into the potential moves in this game and its future consequences, you realize maybe we *should* care 🙃
Thank you very much for that valuable input especially because it also comes from firsthand experience on the ground😁 Off the top of my head I would probably assume that big box stores should have been more open to accepting btc as they have the resources and knowledge base (at least on paper) to roll this out, but this clip largely proved that assumption wrong.
Perhaps what he meant by the tongue in cheek comment “who cares about IMF anyway” was to suggest that if real adoption hadn’t taken off in a meaningful way, the revision of the legal tender status of BTC won’t have a significant impact on the ground; at least from a payments perspective. In reality the IMF deal was a huge step backwards as it effectively curtailed the medium of exchange function of BTC & as I said above it’s going to buy them more time to roll out a CBDC.
Looks like this is a topic for a longer discussion—I could debate some of the points above 😋 Maybe one day, perhaps on our podcast (when back). I see your point, and I didn’t mean to dislike or discredit the video, but I do feel skeptical about some aspects of it.
Definitely going to be worth discussing in depth and would definitely love to get into it once you are back. Hopefully by then he would have done a second vid by then 😁