4 ms·

BTC is an official currency in San Salvador, which is arguably indeed a failed state. I’d argue, though, that it’s just another symptom of the reasons which mad

by fortzi 4y ago

BTC is an official currency in San Salvador, which is arguably indeed a failed state. I’d argue, though, that it’s just another symptom of the reasons which made it a failed state in the first place (populism, corruption, etc.)

BoorishBears 4y ago
I largely agree, I mean the president that got it through last year also violated their constitution to get another term and was upheld by his own puppet court... But BTC hasn't helped at all. It's not even _the_ official currency, just one alongside USD, and yet it's already accelerated the country towards defaulting on their bonds. While all this goes down the president is still making noise about a "Bitcoin city". A very "meta" commentary on cryto I feel.
- el-salvador 4y ago
  >It's not even _the_ official currency, just one alongside USD, and yet it's already accelerated the country towards defaulting on their bonds. And its day to day usage is very low. There was a spike in use after $30 sign up bonus and during the 2021 bitcoin conference and following months which attracted tourism from bitcoiners though.
dhosek 4y ago
San Salvador is a different country from El Salvador, just for the record.
- kgwgk 4y ago
  San Salvador is not a country - it’s a city. The capital of El Salvador.
  - el-salvador 4y ago
    Yup! That's correct. I would say that being able to differentiate between El Salvador, Salvador and San Salvador is a shibboleth for those familiar with El Salvador. They are easy to confuse. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shibboleth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shibboleth
  - dhosek 4y ago
    For the record, I was thinking about San Salvador Island which is also not a country, but during the time of the Salvadoran civil war, tourism at San Salvador Island suffered because apparently people confused it with El Salvador (all of this based on a vague memory of an NPR story I heard roughly 30 years ago).
    - kgwgk 4y ago
      Interesting. It’s true that there are several places named San Salvador which are not in El Salvador: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Salvador_(disambiguation) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Salvador_(disambiguation...
      - el-salvador 4y ago
        Adding to the confusion, there are places named El Salvador which are not El Salvador. The largest one is Villa El Salvador in Perú. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Salvador_(disambiguation) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Salvador_(disambiguation)
    - el-salvador 4y ago
      That's interesting! I hadn't heard about that one. There have been cases in which people book their air tickets to the wrong airport, and end up in San Salvador, El Salvador instead of Salvador, Bahia, Brasil. Obligatory Daily Mail link: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2658716/Soccer-loving-couple-dreamed-going-World-Cup-left-devastated-travel-agent-mistakes-crime-ridden-San-Salvador-Salvador-Brazil.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2658716/Soccer-lovi...

by fortzi 4y ago

BoorishBears 4y ago

I largely agree, I mean the president that got it through last year also violated their constitution to get another term and was upheld by his own puppet court... But BTC hasn't helped at all. It's not even _the_ official currency, just one alongside USD, and yet it's already accelerated the country towards defaulting on their bonds. While all this goes down the president is still making noise about a "Bitcoin city". A very "meta" commentary on cryto I feel.

el-salvador 4y ago
>It's not even _the_ official currency, just one alongside USD, and yet it's already accelerated the country towards defaulting on their bonds. And its day to day usage is very low. There was a spike in use after $30 sign up bonus and during the 2021 bitcoin conference and following months which attracted tourism from bitcoiners though.

dhosek 4y ago

San Salvador is a different country from El Salvador, just for the record.

kgwgk 4y ago
San Salvador is not a country - it’s a city. The capital of El Salvador.
- el-salvador 4y ago
  Yup! That's correct. I would say that being able to differentiate between El Salvador, Salvador and San Salvador is a shibboleth for those familiar with El Salvador. They are easy to confuse. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shibboleth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shibboleth
- dhosek 4y ago
  For the record, I was thinking about San Salvador Island which is also not a country, but during the time of the Salvadoran civil war, tourism at San Salvador Island suffered because apparently people confused it with El Salvador (all of this based on a vague memory of an NPR story I heard roughly 30 years ago).
  - kgwgk 4y ago
    Interesting. It’s true that there are several places named San Salvador which are not in El Salvador: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Salvador_(disambiguation) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Salvador_(disambiguation...
    - el-salvador 4y ago
      Adding to the confusion, there are places named El Salvador which are not El Salvador. The largest one is Villa El Salvador in Perú. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Salvador_(disambiguation) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Salvador_(disambiguation)
  - el-salvador 4y ago
    That's interesting! I hadn't heard about that one. There have been cases in which people book their air tickets to the wrong airport, and end up in San Salvador, El Salvador instead of Salvador, Bahia, Brasil. Obligatory Daily Mail link: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2658716/Soccer-loving-couple-dreamed-going-World-Cup-left-devastated-travel-agent-mistakes-crime-ridden-San-Salvador-Salvador-Brazil.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2658716/Soccer-lovi...