How does BTC affect extortion in El Salvador?

I hear that a significant activity of the gangs is "micro-extortion" which is simply taking 15 bucks a month from businesses like food trucks.

My guess is that the gang members who actually collect this money prefer cash, not using Chivo wallets.

Here's a strong intuition: Bukele's BTC policy was meant to interfere with gang activities and the so-called "popular protests" against Bitcoin adoption were made up of gang members or prompted by gangs. The destruction of Bitcoin kiosks also.

I am sure that gang members do not want their extortion recorded on Chivo wallets and if a food truck owner can innocently say, I can only pay your extortion in BTC, this may be making a dent in the gang financials.

Of course, the extortionists can insist that the business owner exchange BTC for cash but this transaction -- a regular 15 dollar withdrawal visible on the Chivo wallet is evidence in itself. Crimes rely on speed and I am sure gang members are uncomfortable waiting around while the biz owner goes to withdraw the money.

Moreover, the amount that can be converted into cash can easily be controlled -- Bukele can choke off gangs by limiting cash withdraws from kiosks in specific areas.

Bottom line, even if gangs learn to deal with Bitcoin, it is probably something they would prefer had never happened. And an unexpected side effect is the gang members having to learn about BTC and maybe thereby acquire skills that can help them get a real job.

A thought about gangs and technology:

I think movies like to show gangs as being made up of smart guys who embrace technology but the fundamental theorem of organized crime is that very few members are educated or even intelligent. Crime when the risks and rewards are added up is less lucrative than a normal job.

I recall some cops discussing Gotti as being way above the average mafia member in brains: his recorded IQ is 110, a high-average score but they said this put him at the top of the people he associated with.

I could see the gangs in El Salvador being afraid of the tech, perhaps over-estimating how easy it would be to trace illegal transactions; heck, I could see gangs losing their private keys or even getting scammed online.

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