pull down to refresh

149 sats \ 2 replies \ @pretyflaco OP 9 Jan \ parent \ on: pretyflaco aka Kemal of Blink & Adopting Bitcoin here - AMA! AMA
I think the Salvadoran administration is very smart and playing the situation very well. They must have exceptional counsel to navigate the way they do. It's an absolute masterclass in statecraft what they put on.
I'm also quite pleased with the outcome for bitcoin. Nobody should be forced to use bitcoin (de facto never was), so as a bitcoiner I am happy. Bitcoin should be adopted voluntarily and from the bottom-up. It's the only sustainable path.
All the people screeching about El Salvador's move are either idiots or spooks and I am thankful that they felt compelled to come out as such. Thanks boys!
write
preview
this territory is moderated
10 sats \ 1 reply \ @shadowybadger 9 Jan
FWIW I heard from my coffee vendor in El Salvador that the IMF requested that paying taxes in bitcoin should not be allowed. He also mentioned that one of the phone companies stopped accepting BTC over the past couple of days, and that there are concerns in the community that banks might decide to close on and offramps. So sounds like there could still be some gremlins lurking around.
Without being a boots on the ground taxpayer in El Salvador, it's very hard for me to tell whether you can actually pay taxes using BTC there or not.
reply
21 sats \ 0 replies \ @pretyflaco OP 9 Jan
It's never been possible to pay taxes with bitcoin in El Salvador!
Some definition pedants say that if you can't pay your taxes with a currency, then that currency is not legal tender - well, in that case, bitcoin was never legal tender in El Salvador... npbody cares!
It seems indeed that Tigo turned off Lightning payments for mobile top up, however it's not clear that its related to IMF deal. I heard rumours they are just switching LN service providers. However, there are indeed big chains in ES that are run by oppositionaries of Bukele that added bitcoin payments to their stores so there would not be any attack surface for ES administration e.g. Super Selectos. They might indeed remove bitcoin as an option, which sucks a bit, but in the long run, it's better this way.
Re:banks Most of the banks are owned by old elites and they indeed dont like bitcoin and try to impede bitcoin adoption by making it very hard for bitcoin companies to open bank accounts. But there are solutions for this in the making. They can block only for so long until they become irrelevant.
reply