Bukele wanted to revitalise Bitcoin’s economy and improve access to financial services, however since the move was made Bitcoin has lost more than half its value.  Residents of El Salvador are spurning the currency as if it were a rabid dog.

The government's bitcoin purchases have now lost an estimated $45.4 million.

Economist Cesar Villalona told AFP:  "It has not worked... Bitcoin does not exist in the local economy' in any significant way, because in El Salvador 'everything' is paid in dollars: wages, services and goods."

While such a disaster would normally sink political careers, Bukele is wildly popular for his clampdown on criminal gangs.

There are no figures available on how many Salvadorans have taken up Bitcoin. But a poll conducted in May by the Central American University found that 71 per cent believed the cryptocurrency "has in no way helped to improve their family economic situation."

Even a video report from Al Jazeera opens by asking "So has the experiment succeeded? The general verdict — not yet, at least" although the comments section is full of Bitcoin fanboys saying that now is the time to invest in the Ponzi scheme