--- title: "Gang Violence Surging as Crypto Crashes in Bitcoin Country" description: "The value of Bitcoin is dropping precipitously, while gang violence is on the rise in El Salvador, a country that adopted Bitcoin as legal tender." date: "2022-05-13" modified: "2022-05-13" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/gang-violence-bitcoin-country" categories: - "Bitcoin" - "Blockchain" - "Cryptocurrency" - "Future Society" tags: - "bitcoin" - "crypto" - "el salvador" - "the blockchain" - "the digest" --- # Gang Violence Surging as Crypto Crashes in Bitcoin Country ![The value of Bitcoin is dropping precipitously, while gang violence is on the rise in El Salvador, a country that adopted Bitcoin as legal tender.]() *\Image: YURI CORTEZ/AFP via Getty Images\* ## Southbound While the value of Bitcoin continues [its precipitous fall](), El Salvador, the country that [adopted Bitcoin as legal tender]() under its blockchain-loving president last year, is experiencing a surge in gang violence, [*Politico* reports](). Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele was unable to attend a big crypto conference in Miami last month because of gang violence that led to the largest single-day murder spike since 1992, when the country was embroiled in a civil war, according to *Politico*. As the chaos ensues, Bukele is resorting to draconian measures to quell the violence, like [threatening to jail journalists]() for publishing statements from gangs. ## Past Precedent Even before Bitcoin's tumultuous crash this week, it was clear that there was trouble in crypto paradise as the [country's audacious gamble]() on the cryptocurrency has [repeatedly failed]() to bring about positive change for the El Salvadorian people — despite a surge in foreign investors and streams of tourists. And while we can't say for sure if Bukele's Bitcoin boosting was the direct cause for the rise in violence in the country, it certainly hasn't helped the region [known for its socioeconomic instability](). But now, as the country descends into even more political and social unrest, critics are pointing out just how antithetical Bukele's leadership style is to the flashy Bitcoin dreams he promised last summer, around the time he first announced plans to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in the country. "The Bitcoin philosophy is about freedom," Claudia Ortiz, an opposition politician and potential presidential challenger to Bukele, told *Politico*, "but in El Salvador the Bitcoin experiment is part of an authoritarian project, and that’s incoherent." ## Eat It Ezequiel Milla, the former mayor La Union, the El Salvadorian city that houses a volcano where Bukele [opened a geothermal Bitcoin mining facility](), put it even more succinctly. "Nothing positive has happened," Milla said near the base of the Conchagua volcano. As of late, it seems like he's right. **READ MORE:** [‘Nothing positive’: Salvadorans struggle to adapt to Bitcoin]() \[*Politico*\] **More on Bitcoin Country:** [*An Entire Country Switched to Bitcoin and Now Its Economy Is Floundering*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()