Chivo is the crypto wallet issued by the government of El Salvador to drive bitcoin adoption in the country.

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has proudly announced that over two million of his countrymen were using Chivo, the government-backed cryptocurrency wallet introduced when the bitcoin became legal tender in the central American nation. (Gadgets 360)

The young, crypto-friendly President went to town with the news on his Twitter account which has about three million followers:

“2.1 million Salvadorans are ACTIVELY USING @chivowallet (not downloads).

Chivo is not a bank, but in less than 3 weeks, it now has more users than any bank in El Salvador and is moving fast to have more users than ALL BANKS IN EL SALVADOR combined.

This is wild!#Bitcoin”

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) September 25, 2021

Remittance fee savings

Though Chivo (meaning “cool”) suffered teething troubles at the time of its launch, as well as protests at many places in the country, these issues seem to be receding into the background.

It is the President’s favorite justification for bitcoin that the citizens will save millions of dollars in fees on inward remittances from Salvadorans working abroad.

MicroStrategy CEO, Michael Saylor responded to Bukele’s above tweet.

#Bitcoin is hope for the people of #ElSalvador.

— Michael Saylor (@michael_saylor) September 25, 2021

China takes a different path

Across the world, however, China took a very hard line against cryptocurrencies and their mining.

Last week, regulators in China came together to impose a blanket ban on all crypto transactions including mining.

For the first time, as many as ten regulatory agencies, including the PBoC, securities, financial, and foreign exchange, joined hands in a concerted move to stamp out illegal crypto activity.

The authorities also issued a nationwide ban on cryptocurrency mining and said in a statement that they would coordinate to punish illegal crypto mining to prevent “hidden risks” and to enable China to achieve its climate goals.

Related Story: China Bans Cryptocurrency Transactions