coindesk.com
Demonstrators marching against El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin as legal tender and against President Nayib Bukele during the nation’s day of independence have set fire to an automated teller machine (ATM) designed to exchange dollars for the world’s oldest crypto.
The Chivo ATM, named after the government-sanctioned crypto wallet Chivo, can be seen below ablaze in the nation’s capital city, San Salvador.
Protesters are also expressing anger over perceived authoritarianism by the president.
Video footage provided by Ruptly shows protesters streaming into San Salvador brandishing signs such as “No to Bitcoin,” “resistance and popular rebellion against the regiment of Bukele,” and “no to corrupt money laundering.”
On Sept. 3, Bukele was cleared by the judiciary to run for another term despite constitutional limts. The judges were appointed in May by Bukele’s ruling party after the previous judiciary was sacked. The September ruling prompted criticism over abuse of power, including from the local U.S. Embassy.
El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law, which passed via supermajority in the Salvadoran legislature in June and officiated on Sept. 7, has faced stiff opposition ever since it was proposed.
The law, a first of its kind around the world, enables citizens of the Latin American country to use bitcoin as a means to pay for goods and services alongside the U.S. dollar.
A regional deputy belonging to an opposition party in El Salvador and a group of citizens sued the government over the law, labeling it unconstitutional.
Read more: As El Salvador Enacts Bitcoin Law, Locals Remain Confused About Implementation
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