El Salvador citizens will not be forced to use government issued Bitcoin wallet

President Nayib Bukele stated on Twitter that he wanted to clear up any misinformation regarding the government’s wallet application following the passing of the country’s Bitcoin law, which will take effect on September 7. 

The new wallet is called Chivo, which is slang for “cool” in El Salvador, and it can store both BTC and USD. Bukele stated it is just one of many crypto wallets that can be used, emphasizing its interoperability with other wallet apps. 

Bukele added that personal information requested by the wallet is already possessed by the government, emphasizing any requests for personal data within the app are for security purposes.

The president also highlighted that the Chivo will not incur fees or commissions for transfers. It will not take a cut for converting BTC to USD and vice versa, and there will be no commissions charged to merchants or users.

Bukele stated that any money that is held or received in USD or BTC in the Chivo wallet will be able to be withdrawn into USD cash at any time at once the government has completed its roll-out of 200 new physical Bitcoin ATM branches, dubbed Chivo Points.

Further, the president also clarified that the $30 government BTC handout announced on June 25 would not be convertible into USD, emphasizing the administration’s intention to encourage the use of Bitcoin and the Chivo wallet. The new digital wallet initiative could revolutionize monetary policy in the country. 

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