14% of Salvadoran companies have transacted in BTC: Chamber of Commerce

According to a recent survey by the Salvadoran Chamber of Commerce, companies in El Salvador have been slow to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) since the country recognized the famed digital asset as legal tender in September 2021.

Of the 337 companies surveyed between January 15 and February 9, only 14% are said they had transacted in BTC since the Bitcoin law went into effect. More than 90% of companies indicated that Bitcoin adoption in the country had little impact on their sales.

Seventy-one percent of the companies surveyed were micro or small businesses, 13% classified as medium-sized enterprises, and 16% were large companies.

While the low adoption rate may seem disappointing on the surface, El Salvador has followed the US dollar standard since 2001. Unlike the currencies of other emerging economies, El Salvador’s main medium of exchange is not subject to exchange rate volatility. Even in this environment, more than one in ten companies in the country reported Bitcoin usage over a five-month period.

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has placed Bitcoin at the center of his economic growth strategy, even as institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and Moody’s Investors Service have warned against embracing the flagship cryptocurrency. In January, Moody’s analyst Jaime Reusche believed Bukele’s Bitcoin move could undermine his country’s sovereign credit prospects.

Related: Tourism in El Salvador Has Increased 30% Since Bitcoin Adoption, Minister Says

Nevertheless, El Salvador is moving forward with its crypto strategy by issuing $1 billion worth of Bitcoin bonds. Also known as Volcano Bonds, the proceeds from the sale will go towards financing Bitcoin City, a fully functioning metropolis that will use geothermal energy to mine the digital asset.

Bukele is scheduled to speak at the upcoming Bitcoin 2022 conference, where he has promised a “huge surprise”.

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