The President of El Salvador took to Twitter to tout the success of what many analysts are calling his “Bitcoin Regime,” stating that 2.1 million citizens of the Latin American nation are actively using the government-backed wallet, Chivo.
He tweeted, “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 than ALL BANKS IN EL SALVADOR combined. This is wild!”
Going by World Bank’s population data of the country, which puts it at 6.45 million people, the Bitcoin initiative the country embarked on, has managed to bank about 32.56% of the El Salvadoran population in less than a month. El Salvador is a nation where over 70% of its population do not have a bank account.
The government issued Chivo wallet launched on the day El Salvador officially recognized Bitcoin as legal tender, a landmark move that has brought in so much praise and criticism from individuals and institutions alike. The government issued application enables individuals and businesses to send and receive payments in Bitcoin or dollars from anywhere in the world, integrating the speed the lightning network brings.
This update from the President will suggest that the Bitcoin Law is being received favourably across the country, although there has been protests against the law before and after the official adoption as a legal tender. Notably, just 10 days ago, protestors burned down one of the crypto kiosks in the nation’s capital city.
Recall that President Nayib Bukele took to Twitter to announce that his government has been ‘buying the dip’ as the price of Bitcoin fell from $52,000 on the day of the official legal tender adoption of Bitcoin. Also, when Bitcoin’s price crashed again, as a result of the Evergrande news, he announced again that his nation ‘bought the dip,’ putting the country’s total Bitcoin holdings at 700 BTC
Bitcoin is trading at $41,500 as of the time of this report. It is down 2.51% for the day.
