El Salvador’s Experiment Has Failed

The use of the first cryptocurrency in El Salvador has not become widespread over the past months, as evidenced by a survey conducted by the US National Bureau of Economic Research.

The law recognizing Bitcoin as an official means of payment in the country came into force on September 7, 2021. Citizens now have access to the state-supported Chivo crypto wallet. 

The study found that 60% of those who downloaded the application did not use it after receiving a $30 signup bonus. 

95% of users never did not pay taxes in cryptocurrency through Chivo, and 89% did not receive money transfers through the app.

More than half of the citizens did not use Chivo ATMs.