The majority of respondents who had used Bitcoin for purchases in the past year reported only using it one to three times (49.7%), while around 20% stated that they had used Bitcoin more than ten times. Throughout the survey, it was observed that a significant portion of BTC spending occurred in small grocery stores (22.9%), supermarkets (20.9%), and veterinary clinics (15%).
Although there has been a slight increase in the number of Salvadorans who believe that their families’ lives have improved as a result of Bitcoin legalization, jumping from 3% in 2022 to 6.8% in 2023, the majority of participants (34.3%) feel that the overall economic situation in the country has improved due to a decrease in crime (24.3%). Surprisingly, just 0.5% of Salvadorans attribute positive changes in the economy to the adoption of Bitcoin as a means of payment.
Interestingly, the number of Salvadorans actively using Bitcoin has actually decreased. The university’s previous study conducted in 2022 revealed that 24.4% of citizens in the country used Bitcoin for transactions, almost twice as much as the recent survey found. Moreover, the 2022 study did not query respondents about El Salvadoran government investment in Bitcoin, but it did highlight that 77.1% of participants expressed a desire for the government to cease spending public funds on Bitcoin purchases.
Prior to this survey, President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador stated that the recognition of Bitcoin as legal tender had resulted in a decrease in crime rates and an increase in tourism income. However, these claims were not substantiated by the survey data.