On September 7, a law legalizing Bitcoin as a means of payment came into force in El Salvador.
President Nayib Bukele marked the historic moment with a tweet.
The government has created a fund with a reserve of $150 million to facilitate currency conversion for businesses. The fund has already made two purchases of 200 BTC for $21 million.
The government has released a crypto wallet called Chivo, which means “cool” in Salvadoran slang, and will pay out a 30 Bitcoin bonus to citizens who download it.
Salvadorans themselves view the move with confusion and distrust, fearing that the instability of the digital currency could be dangerous for the economy and their own savings. Only about a third of Salvadorans use the Internet, and almost a quarter live below the poverty line. Hundreds of demonstrators marchedthrough the city on Friday to express their concerns about the legalization of cryptocurrency, especially if in the future it will be used to pay pensions and social security instead of the US dollar.
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