South Carolina's treasurer visits El Salvador on a fact-finding mission about bitcoin QuoteCoin
New York City: According to reports, the state official paid for the trip out of his own pocket. While there, he spoke with government representatives about Bitcoin and looked into financial literacy initiatives.
Curtis Loftis, the South Carolina state treasurer, visited El Salvador for five days as part of a “exploratory tour” centered on cryptocurrency.
Loftis, according to a report from October 5, was a member of a delegation that met with El Salvadorian government representatives to learn more about the nation’s efforts to adopt Bitcoin. The delegation also included South Carolina business leaders, rural health officials, and people “interested in the expansion of cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies” (BTC). El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law entered into effect in September 2021, making the cryptocurrency as well as the US dollar legal money in the country.
According to reports, Loftis paid for the trip out of his own pocket. While there, he spoke with government representatives about Bitcoin and looked into the nation’s financial literacy training initiatives. The journey to El Salvador, according to the treasurer, was inspired by South Carolina’s legislature looking into methods to encourage the use of cryptocurrency and blockchain in the state.
In an interview with Cointelegraph, self-described Luddite Loftis claimed he was neither a “proponent nor opponent” of cryptocurrencies but was interested in finding out how South Carolina’s government might utilize the technology to help locals become more financially literate. The treasurer said that during the trip to El Salvador, the party attempted to pay local merchants and street sellers using Bitcoin “maybe four times.”
The bill for the group of us at the finer restaurant was between $300 and $400, and they paid using bitcoin, according to Loftis. “I had already registered for Lightning. […] People using Bitcoin who live extremely near to the ground were a fascinating sight, and some of them seemed to be enjoying it a lot.
According to reports, 20% of Salvadorans utilize Chivo Wallets, according to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, who also revealed that as of July, the government possessed 2,381 bitcoins. The value of the nation’s entire Bitcoin investment has decreased more than 55% since September 2021 due to the bearish cryptocurrency market; at the time of publishing, it was worth around $48 million.
