09/18/2021 11:21 AM
ClarĂn.com
Technology
Updated 09/18/2021 11:21 AM
El Salvador achieved in just over a week
1.1 million users
of the Chivo wallet with which they can carry out transactions in bitcoin, President
Nayib Bukele
reported this Friday
.
"1.1 million Salvadorans already use @chivowallet (and we have not yet enabled
65% of the phone models
)," the president said on Twitter.
The "Chivo Wallet" is an electronic wallet that Salvadorans inside and outside the country can download on their cell phone to carry out transactions in this cryptocurrency.
Each person who downloads the download receives
the equivalent of $ 30 in bitcoin.
On September 7, El Salvador became the first country to use bitcoin as legal tender, hoping to recover its stagnant economy, dollarized two decades ago.
1.1 million Salvadorans already use @chivowallet (and we have not yet enabled 65% of the phone models).
It seems that we will be able to bank more people in 1 month, than they did with nationalizations and privatizations of traditional banking in 40 years. #Bitcoin🇸🇻
- Nayib Bukele 🇸🇻 (@nayibbukele) September 18, 2021
Salvadorans in the United States can also carry out transactions in nine cities where ATMs have been installed.
"It seems that we will be able to bank more people in 1 month, than they did with nationalizations
and privatizations of traditional banking in 40 years,
" said Bukele, who is widely popular.
On Wednesday, participants in a massive demonstration in San Salvador expressed their rejection of bitcoin as a "volatile" cryptocurrency.
According to Salvadoran law, all businesses must have
the technology to accept Bitcoin transactions
.
However, the business owner can choose between keeping the cryptocurrency or activating the option so that the final income falls in dollars.
Bitcoin was approved just over a week ago as the official exchange currency in El Salvador.
AP Photo
The government hopes that the use of bitcoin will contribute to capturing the more than
$
4
billion in commissions
for remittances that Salvadorans send from abroad through financial entities and that are equivalent to 22% of GDP.
Some 3 million Salvadorans live outside their territory, 2.5 million of them in the United States.
The IMF has it in its sights
Kristalina Georgieva, Director of the IMF.
Reuters photo
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) hopes to conclude
"in the coming months"
its annual review of El Salvador's economy, which will serve as the basis for a potential future program with the Central American country, the spokesman for the multilateral organization, Gerry Rice, said on Thursday. .
"We are continuing discussions on Article IV," as the IMF's regular consultations on the economy of member countries are known, Rice said of the talks with the Bukele government.
"We hope that they will conclude in the coming period, in the coming months, and the potential of an IMF program for El Salvador is also being discussed," he added at a press conference.
Rice said the current talks
"will serve as underlying policy measures"
to continue discussions on an eventual deal with the IMF.
"The objectives of our program would be to promote inclusive growth, guarantee
financial stability and fiscal sustainability,
" he said.
And he added that "discussions on economic governance, especially fiscal transparency and anti-corruption measures, will remain key in Article IV and subsequent discussions."
The government of El Salvador said in late July that there was "a high probability of reaching an agreement with the IMF before September."
Then, he said he was looking for an IMF Expanded Service (SAF) program for about
$ 1.3 billion.
Rice did not comment on the establishment of bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador as of September 7, but did refer to his previous statements on the matter.
In June, the IMF warned that the adoption of this cryptocurrency could create risks and regulatory challenges.
Rice said at the time that the Fund was "closely"
monitoring progress on this issue and that it would continue its consultations with the authorities.
Look also
Lemon Cash, the Argentine company behind the implementation of bitcoin in El Salvador
The Fiesta del Chivo: Salvadorans try to understand bitcoin