After criticizing El Salvador for declaring Bitcoin legal tender, JP Morgan recognizes the significant economic achievements the Latin American country has made since then.
Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador, shared on X (formerly Twitter) part of the chapter that JP Morgan, one of the largest investment banks in the world, dedicated to his country in the report “Latin America Emerging Markets Research”.
In the report, the American investment bank recognizes three important economic achievements that El Salvador has achieved in recent months: increased economic activity, controlled inflation and solid fiscal management.
According to the bank's analysts, El Salvador's economy is making significant progress, showing signs of synchronized recovery and acceleration in various sectors, such as construction, manufacturing, services, among others. The report also indicates that the Latin American country has shown low inflation rates and positive trends in fiscal accounts.
In response to JP Morgan's recognition of El Salvador's economic growth, President Bukele commented: “I won't say 'I told you so',” referring to the criticism that this bank and other financial institutions leveled against his policy and government for the adoption of Bitcoin in 2021.
On El Salvador's decision to declare Bitcoin legal tender, JP Morgan had Commented, in June 2021, that there was little benefit in adopting cryptocurrency and that rather this decision could bring great economic challenges to the nation. Interestingly, the institution now forecasts an upward economic growth of 3,9% for El Salvador, which is higher than its previous projection of 2,5%.
El Salvador, pioneer in adopting Bitcoin as legal tender
Data reviewed by JP Morgan indicates that El Salvador has been showing significant signs of economic acceleration in recent months, defying the expectations that institutions and financial experts had and demonstrating the effectiveness of the strategies implemented by the Bukele government to boost the development and growth of the country, among which is the adoption of Bitcoin.
El Salvador was the first country in the world to declare Bitcoin legal tender, by approving a bill, known as Bitcoin Law, on September 9, 2021.
Initially, the Bitcoin Law met with strong opposition from large groups of Salvadorans who were against accepting payments in Bitcoin or receiving their salaries in the cryptocurrency, motivated mainly by concerns about the volatility of its price in the market. However, according to the country's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as of last year more than 90% of Salvadorans had not noticed any differences following the approval of the law and the adoption of Bitcoin.
Tourism grew thanks to Bitcoin
In addition to the data reflected in JP Morgan’s report on Latin markets, in March of this year, President Bukele had expressed his excitement about how Bitcoin was driving the recovery of the tourism sector. In an interview with Emmy Award-winning journalist Tucker Carlson, Bukele stated that tourism in the country had grown by 95% since the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender.
“…We have Bitcoin conferences, etc. So we have received a lot of tourism because of that and we have also received a lot of private investment,” the Salvadoran president stated during the interview, as reviewed this medium.
Continue reading: El Salvador will be the first country in the world to launch a Bitcoin mining pool
Main image from X (formerly Twitter)
