3 ms·

Conversely if that’s all it takes to induce them to give up it tells you something about the benefits they felt were accruing from BTC.

syndicatedjelly 2y ago
Is that really the message?
wongarsu 2y ago
Keep in mind that El Salvador is tiny. This is like 14 days of El Salvador's entire GDP. Or scaled to GDP, it's like giving a $1.2 Trillion loan to the USA.
hammock 2y ago
El Salvador has been in the IMF debt trap since 1949. It’s not just a billion dollar loan we’re talking about. Although scaled to GDP it’s quite a lot
olalonde 2y ago
They're not giving up on Bitcoin. In fact, it's likely that they'll use the loan to buy more Bitcoin. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/el-salvadors-bitcoin-wallet-be-sold-or-discontinued-after-deal-with-imf-official-2024-12-19/ https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/el-salvadors-bitc...
- genem9 2y ago
  They already are. Just bought 20
- taurknaut 2y ago
  Who are they possible gonna offload that bitcoin on to? Their neighbor? That doesn't strike me as a socially acceptable thing to do.
  - olalonde 2y ago
    There's a deep and liquid market for Bitcoin - El Salvador isn't even a major holder in the grand scheme of things. I don't see what's socially unacceptable about selling Bitcoin to a willing buyer; it's simply a transaction between two parties, no different from trading foreign currency like USD. There's also no indication that they plan to spend or trade their Bitcoin anytime soon.
    - taurknaut 2y ago
      > i don't see what's socially unacceptable about selling Bitcoin to a willing buyer Well you're accepting payment for something people are expecting to hold value. Bitcoin only has value to a small subset of people with money. I'd definitely judge you for selling it if you have options for financial transactions via SWIFT.

3 ms·

Conversely if that’s all it takes to induce them to give up it tells you something about the benefits they felt were accruing from BTC.

by kristjansson 2y ago

syndicatedjelly 2y ago
Is that really the message?
wongarsu 2y ago
Keep in mind that El Salvador is tiny. This is like 14 days of El Salvador's entire GDP. Or scaled to GDP, it's like giving a $1.2 Trillion loan to the USA.
hammock 2y ago
El Salvador has been in the IMF debt trap since 1949. It’s not just a billion dollar loan we’re talking about. Although scaled to GDP it’s quite a lot
olalonde 2y ago
They're not giving up on Bitcoin. In fact, it's likely that they'll use the loan to buy more Bitcoin. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/el-salvadors-bitcoin-wallet-be-sold-or-discontinued-after-deal-with-imf-official-2024-12-19/ https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/el-salvadors-bitc...
- genem9 2y ago
  They already are. Just bought 20
- taurknaut 2y ago
  Who are they possible gonna offload that bitcoin on to? Their neighbor? That doesn't strike me as a socially acceptable thing to do.
  - olalonde 2y ago
    There's a deep and liquid market for Bitcoin - El Salvador isn't even a major holder in the grand scheme of things. I don't see what's socially unacceptable about selling Bitcoin to a willing buyer; it's simply a transaction between two parties, no different from trading foreign currency like USD. There's also no indication that they plan to spend or trade their Bitcoin anytime soon.
    - taurknaut 2y ago
      > i don't see what's socially unacceptable about selling Bitcoin to a willing buyer Well you're accepting payment for something people are expecting to hold value. Bitcoin only has value to a small subset of people with money. I'd definitely judge you for selling it if you have options for financial transactions via SWIFT.