Salvadorans will not be forced to use government Bitcoin wallets

The recent announcement by El Salvador’s pro-Bitcoin President Nayib Bukele has made it clear that citizens will not be forced to use the government-issued Bitcoin wallet “Chivo”.

In a June 29 tweet, President Bukele of El Salvador said he wanted to clear up any misinformation regarding the government’s wallet app after the country’s Bitcoin law was passed on June 9 and goes into effect on September 7.

The new Bitcoin wallet is called Chivo, a slang word for “cool” in El Salvador, and can hold both Bitcoins and US dollars. Bukele said this is just one of many crypto wallets that can be used, emphasizing its interoperability with other wallet apps.

Aclarando la desinformación que están tratando de esparcir acerca de la #LeyBitcoin:

1. La Wallet del Gobierno solo es una de tantas Wallet que se pueden usar.

2. La @chivowallet Será totalmente compatible Otras Wallet.

Beep …

– Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) June 28, 2021

To address privacy concerns, he added that the personal information requested by the wallet is already in the government’s possession and stressed that any personal information requests made in the app are for security purposes only. .

Bukele also stressed that the Chivo wallet does not incur any fees or commissions for transfers, noting that unlike traditional crypto exchanges, there are no fees for converting BTC to USD and vice versa, and unlike credit cards, it does Dealer charged no commission charged or the user.

Bukele stated that any funds held or received in the Chivo wallet in USD or BTC can be redeemed in USD at any time after the government completes the rollout of 200 new physical Bitcoin ATM branches. , called “Chivo Points” or “Chivo ATMs”. .

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The president also clarified that the government’s $ 30 BTC issuance announced on June 25 will not be convertible into USD, underscoring the government’s intention to encourage the use of Bitcoin and Chivo Wallet.

The new digital wallet initiative could revolutionize the monetary policy of the Central American country. According to a Nasdaq report, around 70% of El Salvador’s population does not have access to a bank account or financial services.