Two Months in El Salvador: The Ground Game for Bitcoin Adoption A graduate student on leave from the Wharton School checks in on the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. Are locals buying it?

In September 2021, El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as its second legally-recognized national currency alongside the U.S. dollar. It is the first nation to adopt the “Bitcoin Standard,” serving as a testing ground for other countries looking to adopt the digital currency as legal tender.

Jonathan Martin is a graduate of Stanford University, Georgetown University, and a student at The Wharton School, currently on leave immersing himself in the world of Bitcoin in El Salvador.

President Bukele, the 42-year-old Salvadoran Leader in his first term in office, has a vision to completely revolutionize the economy, starting with the integration of Bitcoin. Businesses must accept bitcoin for payment by law, and the government has purchased 2,381 BTC to date

Bitcoin for everyday people

El Salvador and a flood of Bitcoin Expats view Bitcoin as the future of money, but how the average Salvadoran feels about the digital commodity is a different question – particularly in its use as a medium of exchange in everyday commerce. If bitcoin is to become the next global reserve currency, the average non-Bitcoiner must believe in its intrinsic value, even if they do not understand the underlying system that backs it.

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