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El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law didn’t just face a low-adoption problem, but It ran into something harder to legislate away: the people most familiar with Bitcoin were also among the most critical of the law .
A peer-reviewed study published in the Journal of Business and Socio-economic Development (Vol. 6 No. 1, 2026) surveyed 218 Salvadorans in June 2022. It found that 65% of them distrusted the government’s handling of the Bitcoin Law, introduced on September 7, 2021, which made Bitcoin legal tender in the country, alongside the US dollar.
Researchers Ariela Samour, Axel Grossmann, and Florinda Grossmann of Georgia Southern University drew a sharp distinction between distrust in the law and attitudes toward Bitcoin itself, a separation that became the study’s central finding.
#ElSalvador holds 400 bitcoins, President @NayibBukele said. And today the country formally adopts #BTC as legal tender alongside the US dollar.
Congratulations to all Salvadorian, this is history in the making🌋 https://t.co/22zsuoh6Rr— Ciara Sun (@Crypto_Ciara) September 7, 2021
While 57% of respondents viewed Bitcoin negatively, prior users showed a different pattern. They distrusted the law but held more favorable views of the cryptocurrency itself. The researchers suggest that this points to an institutional governance issue rather than a technological one.
Overall, 64% believed making Bitcoin legal tender was a mistake, with opposition strongest among more educated respondents and self-identified conservatives. The study notes this mirrors a broader Latin American trend where lower-income groups often trust state-backed initiatives more than the higher-educated citizens.
The Bukele government offered a $30 Bitcoin sign-up bonus through its custodial Chivo Wallet. 56% of respondents declined the incentive, while 7.8% reported wallet theft, identity fraud, not receiving the bonus, or absence of a national ID as the reason for non-usage. Only 15.1% had used Bitcoin before it became legal tender, mostly as an investment rather than for payments.
Complaints about @nayibbukele’s Chivo wallet are stacking up in the App Store – & for good reason. Thousands of users are unable to access the wallet & many more haven’t received the promised $30 #BTC bonus. Bukele's crackpot plan is going down the tubes.https://t.co/FTcC4NbSMq
— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) September 13, 2021
Bitcoin’s price volatility was the top concern for 65% of respondents, while 54.6% cited distrust in the government.
The study found that public sentiment also worsened after implementation, contradicting the government’s expectations that familiarity would increase acceptance.
These findings align closely with a 2023 study published in ‘Science’ by economists Fernando Alvarez (University of Chicago), David Argente, and Diana Van Patten (Yale University), which noted that Bitcoin and Chivo Wallet usage was low, concentrated, and declining, mainly due to privacy and security concerns.
In January 2025, El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly voted 55-2 to amend the Bitcoin Law as part of a $1.4 billion Extended Fund Facility agreement with the International Monetary Fund, reached in December 2024. The changes made Bitcoin acceptance voluntary for businesses, removed tax payments in Bitcoin, eliminated its classification as “currency,” and reduced the government’s role in operating Chivo Wallet.
🚨 BREAKING:🇸🇻 IMF APPROVES EL SALVADOR'S $1.4B LOAN, IMPOSES $BTC RESTRICTIONS 🚫
The Bukele administration agreed to reduce Bitcoin involvement, including halting daily $BTC buys. pic.twitter.com/O7MImrlMGo
— CryptosRus (@CryptosR_Us) February 27, 2025
The Georgia Southern researchers frame El Salvador’s experience as a direct policy lesson for countries such as Paraguay, Panama, Argentina, Nigeria, and Brazil, where crypto legislation is still being debated or evolving. Their core finding is that public adoption of a mandated digital currency depends less on its technical benefits and more on citizens’ trust in the institutions implementing it.
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