Foreign media outlets are painting a negative image of El Salvador after the legalization of the first cryptocurrency, ignoring the country’s achievements. This was stated by the head of state Nayib Bukele.
In the past year, almost every legacy international news outlet said that because of our “#Bitcoin bet”, El Salvador was going to default on its debt by January 2023 (since we had an 800 million dollar bond maturing today).
Literally, hundreds of articles https://t.co/rEiK7K13U4
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) January 24, 2023
“Last year, almost every international news outlet reported that because of our Bitcoin bet El Salvador would default on its debt by January 2023. … Well, we have just fully repaid $800 million plus interest. But, of course, almost no one is covering this story”, wrote the president.
Bukele noted that The New York Times, The Washington Post and El País criticized the Salvadoran authorities’ Bitcoin policy and spoke of a possible default. The Salvadoran president provided links to some of these materials, noting that there were literally hundreds of publications on the topic.
However, news of the external debt repayment was largely ignored by major media outlets, the president stressed. He said he found an article about it only in the Colombian publication Semana.
Well, we just paid in full, 800 million dollars plus interest.
But of course, almost nobody is covering the story.
I just found one, yes ONE, in spanish, from Colombia https://t.co/PcRES3poE1
They lie and lie and lie, and when their lies are exposed, they go on silence mode.
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) January 24, 2023
“They [foreign media outlets and news agencies] lie, lie and lie, and when their lies are exposed, they go into silent mode,” wrote Bukele.
The Salvadoran authorities recognized Bitcoin as legal tender in September 2021. IMF criticized the move and recommended stripping the cryptocurrency of this status.
In July 2022 the country’s finance minister Alejandro Zelaya said that the introduction of digital gold expanded access to financial services for a population largely outside banking services, attracted tourists and investments.
In September, Fitch Ratings downgraded El Salvador’s long-term foreign-currency default rating from “CCC” to “CC”. According to the document, one of the reasons for the country’s limited access to markets and problems with bond repayments was the legalization of Bitcoin.
Earlier, Moody’s downgraded El Salvador’s long-term foreign-currency credit rating to “Caa1” with a negative outlook. At the start of 2022, the firm’s analysts noted that Bitcoin purchases exert further pressure on the country’s creditworthiness.
As of writing, El Salvador holds in its state fund 2381 BTC worth $53.9 million, according to Buy Bitcoin Worldwide.
In January 2023, the Salvadoran parliament passed a law to issue bitcoin bonds.
In the same month, the chairman of CABEI Dante Mossi said there was an “insignificant” spread of digital gold and other cryptocurrencies among the population of El Salvador.
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