Since El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as legal tender last month, a wave of speculation still hangs low in the miasma.
Salvadorans are day-trading crypto on their phones, selling rallies, and buying dips with glee using Chivo — the government-backed digital wallet preloaded with $30 of Bitcoin.
Chivo is now the perfect tool for speculation. Thanks to its ease of facilitating Bitcoin transactions, which allows users to conveniently top-up their balances and switch instantly between dollars and small amounts of digital currencies.
Small businesses in El Salvador’s capital are now accepting cryptocurrency. The same for large chain stores including supermarkets, McDonald’s, and Starbucks. According to a shop owner in the city’s downtown, dozens of customers pay for items using Bitcoin.
Chivo is best for speculating on price swings
The Bitcoin wallet app, Chivo, which is slang for “cool”, is touted to be faster than physical cash or credit cards — and for a good reason.
Salvadorans are using Chivo to speculate on Bitcoin’s price swings. When its prices dip, they buy the digital currency. Then convert it back into dollars when prices soar. Speculating the prices is a lucrative venture for a majority of Salvadorans.
President Nayib Bukele is the brainchild behind the Chivo app and the country’s adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender. This is the biggest test for Bitcoin in 12 years.
The successful rollout of Bitcoin in the poor Central American nation has produced tangible benefits and broad-based acceptance throughout the country. Bitcoin is now rapidly “competing” with the US dollar pushing other countries to try Bitcoin adoption.
Chivo boasts more than 2 million Bitcoin users
Bitcoin was officially adopted in El Salvador as a legal tender on September 7th, and, currently, more than 2 million Salvadorans are using Bitcoin, according to Bukele. Chivo comes preloaded with $30, which is nearly 8% of the country’s minimum wage.
Although many people in the country are speculating and buying Bitcoin using Chivo, some are topping up the digital wallet with their savings.
However, some people decry poor coverage of the Bitcoin wallet. “The annoying thing is that there isn’t always coverage, but, when [Chivo] works, it works well”, says a resident.
Many Salvadorans are now “regretting” for not taking the Bitcoin wallet app seriously after Bitcoin rallied 11% on Friday.
Many Salvadorans are now admitting the world is dynamic and evolving. They got used to using credit cards, but now they need to start using cryptocurrencies. However, not everyone is excited about cryptocurrency citing privacy fears and access to their data.
