Nayib Bukele, the El Salvador head of state, has assured his citizens that no one will be forced to use the government-issued “Chivo” Bitcoin wallet.
On June 29, 2021, in a tweet, Bukele aired a sentiment to elucidate any misinformation regarding the government-issued Bitcoin wallets applications. The Bitcoin legislation bill passes on June 09 is expected to take effect on September 07.
The newly launched Bitcoin wallet is called chivo, which is slang for “cool” in El Salvador, and it can hold both Bitcoin and U.S dollars. The Bitcoin proponent, Bukele, mentioned that Chivo is among many other crypto wallets that will be used in the country, insisting on its interoperability with other wallets apps.
Aclarando la desinformación que están tratando de esparcir acerca de la #LeyBitcoin:
1. La wallet del Gobierno solo es una de tantas wallets que se pueden usar.
2. La @chivowallet será totalmente compatible con otras wallets.
Sigue…
— Nayib Bukele 🇸🇻 (@nayibbukele) June 28, 2021
To eliminate the privacy concerns among his citizens, Bukele confirmed that the personal information requested by the app is under safe custodial storage of the government, insisting that any request for personal data within the app is meant for security purposes only.
Nonetheless, the El Salvador President has asserted that the Chivo will not incur fees or commissions for transfers, unlike traditional crypto exchanges. Furthermore, while converting BTC to USD and vice versa and unlike the existing credits card, there will be no commissions charged to merchants or users.
Bukele maintained that all funds held or received in USD in the Chivo wallets would be withdrawn into cash at free will any time once the government is done with the rollout of 200 new physical Bitcoin ATM branches, dubbed “chivo points” or Chivo ATMs.
The president has closed his bulletin on the $30 Bitcoin handout issued by his government on June 25. He also insisted that the administration intends to encourage all citizens to use Bitcoin and the Chivo wallet in their daily operations, transactions, and livelihoods.
Interestingly, the new digital wallet initiative could revolutionize the monetary policy in Latin American nations. Surprisingly, roughly 70% of the population in El Salvador does not have access to a bank account or any financial services, based on data acquired by Nasdaq report.
