Following its adoption of Bitcoin (BTC) as a legal tender, El Salvador is notably moving up the ladder when profiled using metrics that define major Bitcoin hotspots in the world. According to data from Bitcoin ATM Radar, El Salvador now ranks as the third country with the largest number of installed Bitcoin-backed Automated Teller Machines in the world.
With Bitcoin gradually becoming a mainstream asset, advances in engineering have birthed ATMs, which simplifies how the public views the cryptocurrency. With the ease that Bitcoin ATMs offer, in helping to convert Bitcoin assets into fiat cash in real-time, it has become necessary for countries like El Salvador in its newfound Bitcoin as a legal tender era.
The country whose Bitcoin law became effective on September 7 now has a total of 205 Bitcoin ATMs installed, making the chunk of the 290 ATMs on record for the entirety of South America. Notably, the United States has the largest number of Bitcoin ATMs with a total of 23,897 (86.4% of the total number of global installations). The Europe region tracks next to the US, with a total of 1,280 or 4.6% of the total global ATM outlets worldwide. The ease at which people can access a Bitcoin ATM, the more likely they will find the premier cryptocurrency helpful. This strategic positioning makes El Salvador’s push a futuristic one.
In the broader sense, a number of El Salvadorans may be anti-Bitcoin as some of the newly installed Bitcoin ATMs were vandalised last week as the country erupted in protests with citizens flooding the streets to speak against the government and the Bitcoin law. While this protest is not likely to undo the new law, the success of the cryptocurrency for use as a legal tender is sure to happen gradually over the next couple of months.
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