President Bukele Explains How El Salvador Benefited From Legalizing Bitcoin

The President of El Salvador – Nayib Bukele – disclosed that the country’s tourism sector has increased by 95% since it embraced bitcoin as an official means of payment.

He criticized some central banking institutions, including the Federal Reserve, claiming their policies have washed out a big chunk of people’s savings. As such, Bukele expects a lot of individuals from the West to focus on decentralized financial instruments.

‘We Get Some Rebranding’

El Salvador’s political leader outlined in a recent interview the most important advantages which adopting bitcoin as a legal tender brought to his nation. First, it made the Latin American country much more attractive to travelers, boosting tourism by approximately 95%. 

“We have increased tourism by 95%, and that’s in part because of bitcoin. There’s a lot of bitcoiners that want to go to the country where bitcoin is legal tender, we have bitcoin conferences.”

El Salvador’s Minister of Tourism – Morena Valdez – said nearly a year ago that the local tourism industry went up 30% in the first three months after embracing BTC. She explained that the nation has become highly popular with Americans, who accounted for 60% of all visitors.

Bukele maintained in his appearance that El Salvador has received “a lot of private investments” since jumping on the bitcoin bandwagon. 

The 41-year-old politician argued that one of the most fundamental benefits which the initiative has caused is “rebranding” the country’s legacy. The small Central American state was primarily known as one of the most violent places across the globe, reaching a peak of 103 killings per 100,000 residents a few years ago.

Against Central Banks

Bukele also criticized the actions of numerous central banks, such as the US Federal Reserve, blaming them for devaluating people’s wealth and erasing their savings. 

In his view, consumers in the Western world have already realized that dealing with centralized financial institutions is not worthwhile and will soon reorient towards the DeFi sector.

He praised bitcoin for its global distribution and potential to fix economic inequity, claiming it is even popular in countries where the authorities have previously prohibited it. 

“You can’t ban it. It’s uncensorable.”

Tron’s Founder – Justin Sun – recently suggested that many Chinese residents remain intrigued by the cryptocurrency industry, although the government forbade such activities in 2021. He went even further, predicting the native token of his project – TRX – could become legal tender in the most populous country.