As more and more countries around the world are actively exploring the potential of digital assets, the Central Bank of Taiwan chose to use a sarcastic Facebook post yesterday (9th) to criticize El Salvador's relaxation of the legal status of BTC as legal tender. However, this post not only failed to gain recognition, but also sparked a counterattack from netizens.
El Salvador to Make BTC Legal Tender in 2021, Faces International Criticism
The post mentioned that El Salvador is the first country in the world to make BTC legal tender, and this "BTC Law" has been in effect since September 2021, attracting global attention. At that time, the Salvadoran government not only required merchants to accept BTC payments, but also allowed the payment of taxes in BTC and exempted related capital gains taxes. To promote adoption, the BTC wallet Chivo and related ATMs were also launched to facilitate payments and exchanges for the public.
However, the Central Bank of Taiwan emphasized that this policy has been criticized by the international community from the beginning, especially the IMF (International Monetary Fund) has warned El Salvador multiple times that the volatility of BTC poses risks to financial stability and integrity, and directly pointed out that its approach to promoting financial inclusion is unwise.
2025 Legal Reforms to Obtain IMF Loan
In order to obtain a $1.4 billion loan from the IMF, El Salvador made amendments to the "BTC Law" in January 2025, canceling the mandatory requirement for merchants to accept BTC payments, meaning that BTC no longer has the status of traditional legal tender. The reform plan also includes that BTC can no longer be used for tax payments and its application in the public sector will be limited.
Further Reading: El Salvador Can't DCA BTC Anymore? Reaches $1.4 Billion Loan Agreement with IMF, Will Restrict BTC Purchases
Nevertheless, the Central Bank emphasized in the post that Stacy Herbert, the director of El Salvador's National BTC Office (ONBTC), still claimed on X that BTC is the legal tender of El Salvador.
Some more rigorous foreign media only reported that El Salvador is reforming the legal status of BTC, and did not directly report that it has revoked BTC's legal tender status.
(The report that El Salvador has revoked BTC's legal tender status is based on the Spanish media EL PAIS)
Central Bank Sarcastically Comments on El Salvador's Policy Reversal
The Central Bank of Taiwan further pointed out that although the Salvadoran government has been promoting BTC for more than three years, the majority of the population still does not buy into it. According to a poll by the University of Central America in January 2024, the proportion of Salvadorans using BTC for payments last year was only 8.1%, a new low since the policy was implemented, far lower than the 25.7% at the beginning of 2021.
Even though President Bukele of El Salvador has a support rate of over 90% due to improved public security and has appeared on the covers of many international media, he himself admitted that since BTC became legal tender in 2021, less than 12% of the population has ever made a BTC transaction, indicating that the policy has not been widely implemented as expected.
The Central Bank couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark:
Global central banks are rushing to be the first, and El Salvador is both the first country to accept BTC as legal tender and the first to revoke it, which seems a bit ironic.
Netizens Counterattack: 'Those Who Buy at Higher Prices Are the Most Ironic'
Although the Central Bank tried to use this post to demonstrate the "failure" of the BTC policy, the comment section has completely reversed. One netizen directly said: "The most ironic thing is that the Central Bank of Taiwan will buy in at even higher prices in the future," implying that the Central Bank is now mocking, but in the future, it may be slapped in the face by the digital asset trend.
Another netizen sarcastically commented: "Those who come in last can still mock the first one who fell," ridiculing the Central Bank of Taiwan, which dares not take the lead, but loves to mock the pioneers who dare to take risks.
Another netizen pointed out: "Why doesn't the Central Bank ask about the performance of El Salvador's current BTC reserves before daring to open its mouth?"
According to Nayib Bukele's investment tracking tool and Mempool data, El Salvador has bought another BTC today, and now holds 6,074 BTCs, worth nearly $600 million. The average purchase price is $46,196.94, compared to the current price of $98,077.38, the return on investment has reached 112.3%, with unrealized gains of $167 million.
