Many Salvadorans report that people are withdrawing the USD 30 Bitcoin bonus that the government gave as an incentive. Neither the government nor Chivo has said anything about the alleged failures in ATMs.
Two weeks after El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as legal tender, the demand for the cryptocurrency looks very high. Dozens of Salvadoran Twitter users refer to long lines to use Bitcoin Chivo ATMs. Several weeks ago, President Nayib Bukele reported that there were about 200 machines throughout the territory.
Some consider this behavior as a sign of interest in the use of cryptocurrency. Others highlight that the country needs more ATMs now that BTC is legal tender.
One of the most common allegations is that Salvadorans go to ATMs to withdraw cash in US dollars. They convert into Bitcoin the USD 30 bond that the government gave as an incentive to use the cryptocurrency.
Twitter user @ Jeremi57XD stated that he needs cash to pay for his studies and denounced that ATMs do not have enough money.
However, many are buying more BTC through those machines. Marvin Ascencio (@ mascencio07) expressed that he has gone to two ATMs, one private and the other Chivo, and most people go to buy rather than withdraw.
Chivo ATMs are Failing
The malfunction in Bitcoin Chivo ATMs joins a lack of cash. Those failures seem to have caused customers to lose money, a local tweeter reported.
Another Salvadoran stated that an ATM was not working for 4 hours due to an alleged update. For his part, @evamenjivar5 added that he did not know if he could already make withdrawals from those machines.
User @ Gueritachula503 also mentioned that the people in charge of ATMs close them too early. However, she said that could be due to the riots in which protesters burned a Chivo ATM.
Neither President Bukele, involved with the adoption of Bitcoin, nor Chivo Wallet, in charge of ATMs and the government wallet, have commented on the matter.
Using Bitcoin is Easier Than Using a Credit Card
Although there have been setbacks, many people welcome the adoption of Bitcoin in El Salvador. For example, Francisco Henríquez considers using this new type of money easier than using a credit card.
That Salvadoran celebrated receiving remittances with Bitcoin without the high fees set by money transfer services worldwide. That is precisely one of the advantages of adopting Bitcoin in El Salvador that the government and analysts have mentioned repeatedly.
The demand for remittances in the Central American country is high as many Salvadorans abroad send money to their relatives. According to the World Bank, remittances represented more than 24% of El Salvador’s Gross Domestic Product in 2020.
In 2019, the country received USD 6 billion in remittances from abroad. El Salvador could skip services like Western Union and MoneyGram if that money were in the form of Bitcoin. That way, Salvadorans would save up to USD 400 million in fees annually, Bukele said.
In addition to the demand for ATMs, 25% of Salvadorans are already using Bitcoin. Bukele stated that more than 1.6 million people already use the Chivo wallet, a figure equivalent to 24.79% of the country’s inhabitants.
By Alexander Salazar
