A man stands outside a store where bitcoins are accepted in El Zonte, La Libertad, El Salvador, on Sept. 4, 2021.Reuters
Construction worker Adalberto Galvez, 32, said he had lost $220 when trying to withdraw cash from the Chivo digital wallet. Galvez said the funds had been taken from his Bitcoin Beach wallet but he was never able to withdraw the cash via Chivo. He said he had not heard back after he filed complaints. One month since launch, 12 percent of consumers have used the cryptocurrency, the Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development reported.
“We’re still not sure what benefits the government expected,” said Leonor Selva of the National Association of Private Enterprises, one of several business groups that remains skeptical about the rollout.The Bukele government hopes that 2.5 million Salvadorans living in the United States will eventually send remittances through Chivo.
Last month, El Salvador bought 700 bitcoins. Prices initially dropped sharply after the Sept. 7 adoption but surged in late September to reach about $54,000 per coin this week.
Sounds like a normal week in America