As a software engineer (ret), I’m not the least surprised to hear that the rollout of Bitcoin support in El Salvador has had glitches. Launching a new banking service and app are ambitious projects under any circumstances, and trying to cut over a whole country on the same day is bound to be problematic. I’m sure the engineers involved would have preferred more testing and a gradual ramp up. But the customer often dictates schedules, and in this case the customer is El Presidente himself, so just do it.
So, the first days saw trouble with the online service, which—spoiler alert—wasn’t up to the sudden load of a whole country trying to log in at the same time. And the app is still a work in progress, assuming you could actually get it. There were problems with the Apple and Google stores, which is hardly a shock to anyone who as dealt with those vultures.
These are the kinds of things that might be expected from any software boot up. The do remind us, though, that the supposed magical properties of Bitcoin require a ton of non-magical infrastructure. As far as I know, none of the issues had anything to do with Bitcoin, per se (unless you count the volatile exchange rate v. the USD). The issues had to do with the rest of the picture that is necessary to actually use Bitcoin in everyday activities, which is the same as for any other financial technology.
For me, the most remarkable thing, though, has been how President Bukele has stepped up and taken to the role of IT support [1]. He has taken full responsibility for his initiative, using his twitter feed to collect problem reports and update users about problems, fixes, and down time.
For this, he deserves credit. It’s one thing to push through a cunning plan like this, and another ting to own it, warts and all. But it’s a whole other level of political rectitude to actually use his office to do something useful to help the project. This is above and beyond the call.
I still have significant reservations about the wisdom of this project, which is surely in the running for Crypto Tulip of the Year.
I’m not here to endorse or condemn Bukele or his administration overall. But as a software professional, I do appreciate and respect his leadership during the rollout which was, after all, his idea.
- Nelson Renteria, El Salvador president steps in to fix bitcoin rollout snags, in Reuters – Technology, September 9, 2021. https://www.reuters.com/technology/it-guy-in-chief-president-tries-fix-el-salvadors-bitcoin-woes-2021-09-08/
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