London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jul 14, 2025

El Salvador Commerce Secretary: Bitcoin Won’t Replace USD

El Salvador Commerce Secretary: Bitcoin Won’t Replace USD

Miguel Kattán, Secretary of Commerce and Investments, and a member of President Nayib Bukele’s cabinet, sought to reassure Salvadorans fearful of a full pivot to a bitcoin standard.

El Salvador’s proposed embrace of bitcoin would not end dollarization in the Central American economy, top government officials said, addressing concerns raised by citizens confused about the plan.

“The dollar will continue to be the legal tender in El Salvador. Operations can be done with bitcoin – obviously related to its value in dollars.” Miguel Kattán, El Salvador’s secretary of Commerce and Investment, said in remarks covered by local newspaper El Mundo on Monday.

Providing the most in-depth look yet at President Nayib Bukele’s plan to grant bitcoin legal tender status, Kattan said the still-under-wraps bill would create an opt-in bitcoin economy where the dollar, El Salvador’s official fiat since 2001, remains supreme.

Kattán explained during a Central Bank press conference, the first to address Bukele’s surprise Saturday announcement televised at the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami, that goods will remain dollar-denominated in El Salvador. A tomato that costs 20 cents, for example, will still cost 20 cents, even among sellers that accept bitcoin.

He sought to reassure Salvadorans fearful of a full pivot to a bitcoin standard. Radical social media prognostications of an economy where goods are priced in satoshis will never come to pass, he said.

The possibility of such a future had sparked pockets of confusion on social media, according to local journalist José A. Barrera.

“Until Saturday very few people knew about cryptocurrencies” in El Salvador, he said in Spanish over a series of Twitter direct messages with CoinDesk. “Let’s say it is not a popular topic.” But it began consuming Salvadorans’ online discourse almost at once.

“In social networks and discussions, people associate or think that they [would] have to have bitcoins” once the bill becomes the law.

The discrepancy between the bitcoin price (over $30,000) and their country’s sub-$300 a month minimum wage has only deepened the confusion, he said. (Bitcoin is divisible to the eighth decimal, making it possible to buy a fraction of a coin, but this is not always obvious to people unfamiliar with the cryptocurrency.)

For this reason, Barrera said, “it’s no coincidence” the government’s first official word on Bukele’s surprise announcement includes a promise “that bitcoin will not replace the dollar.”

“What the Law will say, at the end of the day, is that you can pay – if the person charging accepts Bitcoin and if the person paying wants to pay – using Bitcoin,” Kattán said during the press conference.

Even so, Kattán said the bill would recognize bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador. The bill would also come with protections against money laundering, he said.

Kattán said bitcoin presents El Salvador with a growth opportunity. He pointed to the success of a community known as “Bitcoin Beach” where hotels, shops, restaurants and even the water utility accept bitcoin over the low-cost Lightning network.

“There is no difference from what we have today,” Kattan said. For consumers and merchants, “their relationship will always be with the dollar.”

Barrera said bitcoin is “probably” viable in El Salvador as many residents are already plugged into the digital economy.

“But we will have to wait to know what conditions the bill will have, which will surely pass as proposed by Nayib Bukele,” he said.

Source: El Salvador Commerce Secretary: Bitcoin Won’t Replace USD – Fintechs.fi

Comments

Oh ya 4 year ago
Yup sounds about right to me. Take your dollar and buy Bitcoin and then take that Bitcoin and buy a coffee. Sounds normal if your a stupid person.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
×