El Salvador President Disses Bloomberg Over Bitcoin Criticisms
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele called a Bloomberg report on its bitcoin experiment “full of lies.” The crypto community largely seems to agree with him.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele lashed out at Bloomberg over Twitter for a report on the country’s bitcoin experiment. Bukele tweeted on Dec. 5 that the Bloomberg article was “full of lies” and implied that the media only had an interest in select issues. The article essentially called El Salvador’s decision to make Bitcoin legal tender a failure.
In the report published last month, Bloomberg stated that Bukele’s Bitcoin revolution was “failing miserably.” It talks about the origin of Bukele’s interest in passing the Bitcoin law. It also paints an unflattering picture of the country’s conditions, contrasting it with enthusiasm for cryptocurrency. The reporter also spoke to locals, many of whom appeared disdainful of the cryptocurrency.
On the whole, the report offers implicit criticism of the country and how it is run. However, it does note that Bukele’s approval rating is at around 90%. The country’s citizens seem to attribute the crackdown on gang violence to him. El Salvador has been in the news for a variety of reasons in recent weeks. The country is tackling gang violence and carrying out large-scale arrests while its economy is in a dire state.
All in all, the report suggests that the Bitcoin experiment hasn’t helped. Stacy Herbert, who has spoken to Bukele along with her husband Max Keiser, called the Bloomberg piece propaganda.
El Salvador Marches Forward With Bitcoin
While the criticism of its Bitcoin experiment has been reaching a high, El Salvador continues to take action with the cryptocurrency. The most important of these is the fact the country has proposed a digital securities bill focusing on cryptocurrencies.
The bill would establish a National Digital Assets Commission, a body that would oversee the regulation of crypto entities. The bill is likely to pass as Bukele’s party has majority legislative control.
El Salvador is negotiating with China on an economic deal, which could bring some relief to its economy. China has already made some contributions, but the concern is that it would sacrifice some of El Salvador’s sovereignty.
Meanwhile, Bukele has said that the country plans to buy 1 BTC every day. Reports are that the country holds nearly 2,400 BTC.
The Bukele report isn’t the only one that has drawn the crypto community’s attention. The New York Times was heavily criticized for its report on Sam Bankman-Fried and the FTX collapse. The Washington Post, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal were similarly criticized.
The reports were called “puff pieces” that were too kind on Bankman-Fried and FTX’s operations. The crypto community said the reports made Bankman-Fried seem like a charitable figure.
