UCA Survey Results, Residents Disagree Bitcoin Adoption By El Salvador Government

Bitcoin is again causing controversy in El Salvador. (photo credit: dmitri demidko/unsplash)

JAKARTA - Most of El Salvadorans expressed their disagreement with the government's decision to adopt bitcoin as a legal tender. In addition, many do not know how to use digital currency and do not trust the project. This is reflected in the report of a poll conducted by Central American University (UCA) on Thursday, September 2.

UCA, is a Jesuit university based in El Salvador. They conducted the survey last month to find out what the people of El Salvador think about bitcoin.

According to their report at least 67.9% of 1,281 people surveyed said they disagree or strongly disagree with the use of bitcoin as a legal tender. More than 32% of people say they agree on some level.

The study comes days before the government will formalize cryptocurrencies as legal tender in El Salvador on September 7. The use of this cryptocurrency was announced by President Nayib Bukele in June.

The UCA poll, conducted in August, also showed that 9 out of 10 people do not have a clear understanding of bitcoin, and 8 out of 10 people also say they have little or no confidence in its use.

Most people, 7 out of 10, think lawmakers should repeal the laws that make it legal tender.

“What we can see in this survey, in addition to the widespread rejection of the adoption of bitcoin as a legal tender, is that for the first time we find significant disagreement between residents and decisions made by the House of Representatives and the president,” said UCA dean Andreu Oliva.

El Salvador's government did not immediately comment on the poll results. Bukele and his government have presented the move as a way to boost jobs and economic development by making El Salvador less dependent on the US dollar, the legal tender today.

The survey also shows most Salvadorans think that the main beneficiaries are the wealthy, foreign investors, governments and business leaders. "There is a lot of concern about the possible negative effects of using bitcoin," said Oliva.