A recent poll revealed that 48% of Brazilians want Bitcoin as their official currency, with investment concerns and inflation among the main reasons. In fact, El Salvador adopted Bitcoin last September 7, becoming the first country to regulate the currency as legal tender. Even more promising, the country’s president announced that there was a purchase of 550 BTCs, also becoming a pioneer in the purchase of cryptocurrencies. This reality ended up arousing the interest of the world population about the new internet currency, responsible for showing a great appreciation in recent years. Large companies in El Salvador are already accepting Bitcoin as payment, a proof that the currency is useful as a means of payment.
Real is losing a lot of value with high inflation, but currency is still the only forced course in Brazil
Since 1994, the Brazilian Real was created, a currency issued by the Central Bank of Brazil that ended up putting an end to a decade of problems with inflation in the country, which plagued the population after a military dictatorship. However, in 2022, 27 years after its creation, the Real lost 85% of its purchasing power, according to Austrian economist Fernando Ulrich, who noted that the Brazilian currency was once again experiencing extreme inflation, putting the population’s purchasing power at risk. . A BRL 100.00 bill today buys “only BRL 14.59”, after the great inflation in the country.
Another way to visualize the destruction of the purchasing power of the real. pic.twitter.com/HSeuc9IkzR
— Fernando Ulrich (@fernandoulrich) September 9, 2022
It is worth saying that the Real is a forced course currency, which means there is “mandatory acceptance, determined by governmental act, of the currency devoid of metallic ballast“, according to a glossary of the Central Bank of Brazil. That is, even worse, Brazilians are forced to accept the currency. Bacen’s own explanation makes it clear that there is no guarantee in the national currency beyond the population’s trust in the national financial system, since there is no metallic backing.
Research shows that 48% of Brazilians want Bitcoin as their national currency
This reality of lack of ballast and high inflation, combined with a great political uncertainty in Brazil, may be leading more Brazilians to become interested in Bitcoin. According to a survey carried out on the Toluna platform, commissioned by Sherlock Communications, brokerage firms in Latin American countries already show this reality, given the increase in the volume of negotiations.
“As the report shows, brokerages in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Chile have seen tremendous growth.”
In addition, the Brazilian stock exchange B3 listed some products linked to cryptocurrencies, which allowed large investors to buy these products and experience the market, even in a regulated environment. The report drew attention to the rise of Bitcoin in Brazil, associated with a major devaluation of the Real in 2022, with more than 1 million registered users in the country.
“Brazil has approximately 1.4 million registered cryptocurrency users. In the first quarter of 2022, Bitcoin broke a new historical record in the country, trading above R$ 300,000.00. This was due to a combination of two factors: Bitcoin surpassed the US$ 60,000 mark and the devaluation of the Brazilian real.”
The survey heard 2,700 people in several countries, and those participants from Brazil expressed their concerns about diversifying their investments and a way to protect themselves from inflation as the main reasons to buy Bitcoin. Argentines, on the other hand, were more concerned about inflation when buying these currencies.
Reasons that Brazilians invest the most in cryptocurrencies are to diversify investments and protect against inflation/Sherlock Communications
Brazilians want the country to adopt Bitcoin, but do not expect a replacement for the Real
But what really stands out is that 56% of Brazilians interviewed believe that El Salvador did the right thing in legalizing Bitcoin as legal tender. Another equally relevant fact is that 48% of representatives from Brazil think that the government should do the same.
“Brazilians were the biggest supporters of cryptocurrency recognition in the region, with 56% supporting El Salvador’s approach and 48% saying they want Brazil to adopt it as well. In Colombia, 52% agreed with El Salvador, as well as 51% in Mexico and 45% in Argentina. Support was lower in Chile and only 41% agreed it’s a good idea.”
Nonetheless, the belief that Bitcoin will replace Real does not exist in most respondents, indicating that they believe that the digital currency can coexist with the fiduciary. Listeners even declared that Bitcoin is the most famous digital currency, with Ethereum being the second place and Litecoin the last.
