Ethereum Co-Founder Opposes El Salvador Bitcoin Adoption Policy

Co-founder of Ethereum ETH/USD Vitalik Buterin is speaking out against the policy of El Salvador President Nayib Bukele to make Bitcoin BTC/USD usage mandatory for merchants and businesses, saying it was against cryptocurrency’s “ideals of freedom.”

What Happened: Buterin says the policy of pushing people to use bitcoin with almost no prior attempt to educate them is "reckless" and "risks a large number of innocent people getting hacked or scammed."

“"Shame on everyone (ok, fine, I'll call out the main people responsible: shame on Bitcoin maximalists) who are uncritically praising him,” Buterin added in a Reddit post.

Last month, El Salvador made bitcoin legal tender, and while it’s optional for the country's citizens to use the cryptocurrency, all companies must accept bitcoin as long as they have the technology to do so.

Buterin said he believes Bukele’s policy is partly motivated by politics, but is also driven by personal factors.

“He’s a human being like the rest of us, he just loves being praised by people he considers powerful (ie. Americans),” said Buterin. “Bitcoin maximalists are a very easy community to get to praise you: you just have to be in a position of power and do or say nice things about them and their coin."

Related Link: El Salvador Introduces Fuel Subsidy For Citizens Who Pay In Bitcoin