The Salvadoran President, Nayib Bukele, claims that 2.1 million of his fellow citizens are using the Chivo cryptocurrency wallet, backed by the government, offering insight into the apparent success of Bitcoin’s tactic (BTC) from the country.
The controversial president updated to its 2.9 million Twitter followers on Saturday afternoon, stating that Chivo “now has more users than any bank in El Salvador” after just three weeks of operation. Bukele indicated that it is only a matter of time before the adoption of Chivo eclipse all the banks in El Salvador together.
2.1 million Salvadorans are ACTIVELY USING @chivowallet (not downloads).
Chivo is not a bank, but in less than 3 weeks, it now has more users than any bank in El Salvador and is moving fast to have more users that ALL BANKS IN EL SALVADOR combined.
This is wild!#Bitcoin
– Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) September 25, 2021
2.1 million Salvadorans are ACTIVELY USING @chivowallet (not downloads).
Chivo is not a bank, but in less than 3 weeks, it now has more users than any bank in El Salvador and is moving rapidly to have more users than ALL BANKS IN EL SALVADOR combined.
This is wild! #Bitcoin
The Chivo purse, issued by the State, was launched in early September when El Salvador officially recognized Bitcoin as legal tender, a historical measure that could offer an important case study for other countries in the region. Chivo allows individuals and companies to send and receive payments in Bitcoin or in dollars from anywhere in the world. The wallet is available on both Android and Apple devices. As Cointelegraph reported, Mexican crypto exchange Bitso has signed as main service provider for Chivo.
Bukele’s latest update suggests that the Bitcoin Act is being favorably received across the country, even as hundreds of anti-government protesters took to the streets to express their opposition. On September 15, these protests culminated in the burning of a cryptocurrency ATM in the capital of the country.
Definitely, Chivo’s massive adoption is due, in part, to the fact that the government has sent $ 30 worth of BTC to each Salvadoran account holder. According to a recent survey by the São Paulo agency Sherlock Communications, a little more than half of Salvadorans they are not familiar with Bitcoin.
In the meantime, Bukele’s government has been filling its coffers with BTC following a series of volatile swings in the price of the digital asset. El Salvador “bought during the downturn” in at least two of the last price drops –the 7 and the 20 of September– bringing your total holdings to 700 BTC.
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