El Salvador Bitcoin launch sparks protests, tech glitches

On the first official day that Bitcoin became legal tender in El Salvador, the value of the cryptocurrency dropped as protests and technical glitches were sparked by the launch of the digital asset.

When the cryptocurrency launched on Tuesday, there were roughly 1,000 protestors on the streets of San Salvador opposing the adoption of the crypto-asset.

Citizens of the Central American nation are generally critical of the move according to a poll by JP Morgan.

Over half - 54 per cent - of Salvadorans said the law was “not at all correct”, 24 per cent felt the law was “only a little correct”, and just 20 per cent were in favour of it.

On the same day, according to a report from the BBC, the price of Bitcoin dropped to the lowest in almost a month.

The crypto-asset fell from $52,000 to under $43,000 at its lowest point.

An opposition politician reportedly claimed that the price drop had cost the country $3 million.

While companies are now legally obligated to accept the currency for all goods and services, platforms like Apple and Huawei were not offering Chivo, the country’s government-backed digital wallet. Servers also had to be taken offline when they couldn’t manage the number of user registrations, said the news broadcaster.

However, throughout the day, the wallet became available on more platforms.

"We must break the paradigms of the past," President Bukele tweeted. "El Salvador has the right to advance towards the first world."

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