El Salvador Bitcoin adoption reaches one month, Ethereum founder criticizes: Mandatory adoption goes against the spirit of crypto, those praising this move should be ashamed

An article on Reddit titled "Salvadoran President Should Not Be Praised by the Crypto Community" sparked a lot of discussion, with even Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin commenting below. He believes that El Salvador's adoption of Bitcoin is completely contrary to the ideals of cryptocurrency freedom.

President of El Salvador Not Worthy of Praise

Reddit user Acceptable_Novel8200 posted an unpopular opinion that since El Salvador adopted Bitcoin, President Nayib Bukele has gained widespread attention, but what many fail to notice are Bukele's other actions that may portray him as a dictator.

Novel8200 pointed out the core principle of cryptocurrency and DeFi, which is to be decentralized and not controlled by any individual or entity, a concept that Bukele's actions seem to contradict the idea of empowering the people.

He listed a series of dark events involving Bukele, including:

• Compromising with Salvadoran gangs and promoting a "gang truce policy"
• Deploying a large number of armed forces to oversee the Congress to ensure the budget passed
• Dismissing the Attorney General Raul Melara and all senior judges of the Supreme Court through controlling parliamentary votes
• The Supreme Court's ruling to allow the president to run for two consecutive terms, which goes against the country's constitution
• Responding to public criticism on Twitter by introducing himself as "the coolest dictator in the world" as a democratic country's president

Novel8200 believes that cryptocurrencies have been heavily stigmatized by governments worldwide, often associated with criminal activities, and based on the actions mentioned above, Bukele is walking a fine line between being a dictator and a proponent of Bitcoin, linking his actions to cryptocurrency and tarnishing the community once again.

Vitalik Buterin Calls Out Bitcoin Extremists

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin commented here:

This viewpoint is not unpopular, forcing businesses to accept a specific cryptocurrency goes against the core ideals of freedom that are crucial in the crypto space. Additionally, the policy of airdropping Bitcoin to millions of people is reckless and puts innocent individuals at risk of hacking or scams. I am embarrassed by anyone who uncritically praises or supports such actions, well not everyone, I would say primarily the people who should be condemned: the Bitcoin extremists.

In another comment, Vitalik responded and presented a simpler, more foolish assumption:

He may be doing this for political reasons, as he, like all of us, enjoys being praised by what he sees as more powerful individuals, namely Americans. Bitcoin extremists are a community that easily praises you: "As long as you have power, and say or do something nice about them or Bitcoin, you're good."

The Contradictions of the Bitcoin Law

El Salvador's Bitcoin adoption policy has been contradictory from the start. Article 7 of the Bitcoin Law passed in June stipulates that Bitcoin must be accepted as a form of payment by "every economic agent," yet Bukele tweeted in August stating that the use of Bitcoin is "completely optional."

Many in the community retaliated against Vitalik on Twitter claiming it was out of jealousy that Ethereum was not nationally adopted and mocking Ethereum's transaction fees as astronomical. Some argued that there is a distinction between "mandatory use" and "mandatory offering to consumers," not as severe as described by Vitalik.

In a previous AMA, Vitalik mentioned that he welcomes governments to build CBDC and DApps on Ethereum, believing that governments can benefit from the advantages of cryptocurrency such as interoperability and composability. However, he emphasized more on the adoption and application of stablecoins rather than Ether.