Emerging market godfather Mark Mobius says Bitcoin is meaningless: Why do we need Bitcoin when we have mobile payments?

Mark Mobius, former chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets and known as the "Godfather of Emerging Markets," believes that El Salvador's bold move to adopt Bitcoin is unlikely to lead other countries to follow suit.
El Salvador began adopting bitcoin nationwide on Tuesday, a move Mobius said exposed the currency's flaws as a payment mechanism and inhibited its potential for wider adoption.
"There's no point in using the bitcoin payment system when you can pay with your phone," Mobius said. "You don't need bitcoin, you don't need cryptocurrency."
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has said Bitcoin would help reduce the cost of remittances, which accounted for a quarter of El Salvador’s GDP in 2020.
But others worry that adopting the volatile cryptocurrency as legal tender would jeopardize crucial financial aid negotiations with the IMF and undermine the country’s already fragile economic fundamentals.
“El Salvador, let’s face it, is in a state of deep trouble. It has real problems. It’s a bankrupt country. They’re using Bitcoin to save their lives,” Mobius said.
He also said that some countries with weak financial systems may follow El Salvador's lead in adopting Bitcoin, but he does not expect widespread adoption by other countries.
When asked what would change his mind, Mobius said nothing less than the U.S. government allowing taxes to be paid in Bitcoin, which could make Bitcoin an internationally recognized currency and take cryptocurrencies mainstream.
“But as things stand right now, I don’t think that’s going to happen any time soon,” he said.