Just three weeks after the new law came into force, Bukele had declared that 2 , 1 million people in El Salvador use the Chivo wallet. There still seems to be strong growth in this area in El Salvador. As Bukele proudly announces on Twitter, more than three million residents have now installed the Chivo wallet. With 6.4 million inhabitants (including around 800,000 children), more than half of the adult citizens now use the Chivo wallet. A large number of people should have come into contact with Bitcoin for the first time. The citizens of El Salvador received an amount of 30 US dollars in BTC as a bonus.
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In terms of price, El Salvador’s bet is on
El Salvador is now also dependent on the price development. On the day it was launched, Bitcoin just barely failed at the US $ 53,000 mark. The price of the oldest and largest cryptocurrency then fell by around $ 10,000 within a few hours. El Salvador seized the opportunity to invest in Bitcoin at a reduced rate thanks to the setback. According to Bukele, the Central American country holds around 700 BTC. Since then, Bitcoin has had a positive balance – BTC is currently quoted at around $ 54,200. Just a few days ago, the Bitcoin price even briefly cracked the 55,000 dollar mark.
El Salvador has at least been able to make a profit with the investment in Bitcoin. At the same time, volcano mining recently started in the Central American country. Bukele also sees enormous growth potential here.
The situation in El Salvador is still opaque
Even if the user numbers sound very promising, the numbers do not indicate whether Bitcoin is also actively used as a means of payment or only the 30 dollars will be accepted as a gift.
The residents of El Salvador prinzi benefit from the Chivo wallet tally of significantly better conditions for cross-border transactions. While service providers such as MoneyGram or Western Union sometimes charge horrific fees for this, transactions via the Chivo wallet with BTC are free of charge.
Although President Bukele is celebrating the first successes with the introduction of Bitcoin as the official currency and the number of users is increasing rapidly, however, it is not yet clear how far bitcoin adoption has actually progressed in the country. Because the exact intensity of the use of the Chivo wallet is unclear.
It will be much more important whether there will continue to be positive reports regarding the use of Bitcoin in El Salvador in the next few weeks and months. Even before the introduction, some residents had demonstrated against BTC as legal tender. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is also critical of the current situation.
