El Salvadoreans are finally warming up to investment in Bitcoin according to President Nayib Bukele. According to him, more and more citizens of the country are looking to use remittances to buy Bitcoin directly. El Salvador became the first in the world to recognize Bitcoin as a legal tender. But, its adoption of the cryptocurrency hadn’t gone exactly to plan with public opposition appearing against the move. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other world fiscal authorities also warned against such a move but the country took a bold step and went forward with this decision anyway.
According to President Bukele, whose Bitcoin inspiration the nation is working towards, the government-developed Chivo wallet is receiving more and more requests for crypto purchases. He tweeted:
2 new Chivo Facts:
1. People are inserting way more USD (to buy #BTC) than what they are withdrawing from the Chivo ATMs (any media outlet can independently confirm this by visiting the ATMs).
2. Today, we received 24,076 remittances, adding up to $3,069,761.05 (in one day).
— Nayib Bukele 🇸🇻 (@nayibbukele) October 16, 2021
He also stated:
“People are inserting way more USD (to buy #BTC) than what they are withdrawing from the Chivo ATMs.”
He also encouraged the media outlets to verify or confirm the authenticity of his claims. If his claims are proven, this means that the investor confidence in Bitcoin is improving considerably in the country. The move, however wasn’t shy of controversy in the country as protestors came out in force against the move and the government cracked down in a not-so democratic way on them. The Chivo crypto wallet also developed many glitches initially, resulting in more and more challenges for the government. It could only assure its working after several weeks of issues and bad press.
However now, the government has reportedly found some success at last and that is when things will start to get interesting enough. As El Salvador becomes more and more of a success, other nations are expected to follow suit. Even if they won’t recognize the cryptocurrency as legal tender, they can still engage in other measures to improve the digital currency’s footing in the public. Switzerland recently gearing towards a referendum to amend the constitution and allow the central bank to hold it as a reserve asset in addition to conventional ones. Currently, it is a wait-and-see approach for many.
Image Source: pixabay.com
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