20% Of Businesses In El Salvador Now Accept Bitcoin

By Kevin • April 29, 2022 10:34 pm • Comments

Research has been showing that results are starting to show ever since El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender.

According to a study done by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), around one-fifth of businesses operating in El Salvador now accept Bitcoin as payment.

The use of the digital asset as a payment method happens to be one of the fastest growing payment options when compared to other alternatives.

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As a result of this, people are starting to decrease their usage of traditional payment methods such as cash and debit cards.

So far, the data is showing that people who use BTC are now using cash 10% less now and their use of debit cards has decreased by roughly 11%.

CoinTelegraph reports:

Apart from this, as the Bitcoin Law in El Salvador requires economic agents to accept BTC, the study also questioned survey participants who identified as owners of firms and employees familiar with company payment methods.

Within this demographic, 20% stated that their company or place of work accepts BTC, while only 25% accept credit and debit cards.

Additionally, the study noted that “11.4% of firms have positive sales in Bitcoin.”

The researchers also found that 71% of BTC sales are mostly converted into dollars and then withdrawn. Furthermore, 17% of the sales are converted into dollars and kept within the Chivo Wallet.

Meanwhile, 12% have kept their BTC within the Chivo application.

There were some case studies within the country where some people attempted to use just Bitcoin as their only means of payment.

Surprisingly, there were less issues encountered than expected as many establishments such as Starbucks and McDonalds already accepted BTC as payment.

With that being said, there is still much progress to be done for mainstream adoption as many were still not familiar with what the crypto is.

El Salvador’s experiment to allow BTC to be used as legal tender is now being followed by the Central African Republic which recently adoption Bitcoin as legal tender as well.

Both countries are establishing legal frameworks and regulations to promote the use of digital assets despite facing harsh criticism from regulators in other countries.

Ultcoin365.com concludes:

A research done by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) shows that months after Bitcoin (BTC) became legal cash in El Salvador, 20% of companies have begun to accept BTC as a payment method.

The study, which polled people from 1,800 households in El Salvador, sought to assess BTC acceptance in the country following the passage of the Bitcoin Law.

The study discovered that Bitcoin is increasing traction in comparison to conventional payment options.

Following the adoption of the Bitcoin Law, an Italian couple attempted to circumnavigate El Salvador for 45 days using solely BTC as payment.

The pair discovered that many businesses, including McDonald’s and Starbucks, already accept Bitcoin. However, they also encountered vendors who were unfamiliar with cryptocurrencies.

Progress is certainly being made on the international stage and confirmation of success for these two countries would likely be a catalyst for many to do the same within a few years.

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