thecoinrepublic.com
- Anti-BTC emblems and a placard saying democracy is not for sale were observed on the Chivo machine.
- Bitcoin skeptics and those protesting El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s policies have demolished a cryptocurrency kiosk in the country’s capital city
- Mayor Mario Durán of San Salvador said city personnel had left the area after receiving threats, but that they would return later this afternoon
Anti-BTC emblems and a banner proclaiming democracy is not for sale were observed defaced on the Chivo machine. Bitcoin skeptics and those protesting El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s policies have demolished a cryptocurrency kiosk in the country’s capital city. On Wednesday, the news organization Teleprensa and others shared images on social media showing a Chivo-backed shop in San Salvador burning in the midst of a gathering of journalists and protesters.
BTC ATM destroyed with anti- BTC logo
The El Salvador government’s Bitcoin (BTC) ATM, one of many set up since the country’s acceptance of the cryptocurrency as legal tender, was damaged with anti-BTC logos and a placard reading democracy is not for sale.
Mayor Mario Durán of San Salvador said city personnel had left the area after receiving threats, but that they would return later this afternoon. The damage appears to be limited to the Chivo machine at the Plaza Gerardo Barrios in the capital city’s heart at the time of writing, although protesters are also said to have set fire to furniture from one of the plazas shops.
The Chivo kiosk, which looks like a Bitcoin ATM, is one of about 200 in El Salvador that are part of the government’s plan to accept Bitcoin as legal cash alongside the dollar. President Bukele has stated that he hopes to see crypto ATMs installed around the country in the future, but that no one would be forced to use Bitcoin.
BTC price took hit when Bitcoin law came into force
El Salvador experienced opposition to the ostensibly radical legislation even before it went into force on September 7. In July, protesters known as the Popular Resistance and Rebellion Block marched through the streets of the capital city, while the following month, a group of retirees, veterans, disability pensioners, and other workers organized their own rally.
The price of Bitcoin fell below $43,000 on the same day that the country’s Bitcoin Law entered into force, prompting Bukele to declare that he had purchased the fall with the purchase of an extra 150 BTC. The BTC price is $47,978 at the time of publication, having grown by more than 3% in the last 24 hours.