El Salvador’s Bitcoin (BTC) Rollout Faces More Criticism, Here’s Why
The El Salvadoran government is under severe criticism concerning the recent adoption of bitcoin as its native currency. The complaints arose even further after the Government announced that they bought more bitcoin in the current dip. It’s not clear if the people will continue using this coin or eventually boycott it.
Increased complaints Against Government
In a Reddit post named “I’m from El Salvador… UPDATE 2,” a Salvadoran highlighted the issue causing the Bitcoin problem in the country. The major complaint currently is about the Chivo wallet. This wallet was created to help Salvadorans use, hold, and save the bitcoin currency.
Earlier, Mr. Bukele, the Salvadoran president, tweeted that around 1.6 million people already use the Chivo app. In the same tweet, the president highlighted that the Chivo app is functioning 100%.
https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1440033171009982475
However, according to the user, this tool is quite hard to use.
It has a UX design problem, and also the lighting network is hidden. The post continued to mention random logouts as a problem associated with the app. Sometimes users are unable to access their accounts due to server issues.
Another issue associated with the wallet is transferring and withdrawing.
For instance, the Redditor mentioned that some users could not send their funds from the Chivo website to banks like Chase. Others reported delays lasting days, even weeks.
The Redditor said that their $2 transaction sent on September 8 had still not gotten updated.
Zero Education On Bitcoin
Another issue that is driving the fight against Bitcoin in El Salvador is the lacking education.
Generally, the Redditor noted that people deny this new currency because they have little knowledge about bitcoin. They do not know what bitcoin is. The Redditor said:
“It might take a while to actually see if people use btc or ditch it away. There are no education programs about btc from the government aside teaching you how to use chivo app.”
According to the subreddit, Salvadorans are sticking in lines for hours to seek guidance on using Bitcoin and the Chivo app. Yet, most people want to withdraw the $30 funds. In fact, due to lacking education and guidance, people are selling their $30 BTC for $25 to others.
It’s possible that after selling their $30, most people are not using the Chivo application again.
President Announced More BTC Purchase
Just yesterday, Salvadoran president Bukele announced on Twitter that they purchased more Bitcoin in the dip.
In the tweet, Mr. Bukele noted that they bought 150 more BTC and now have a reserve of 700 BTC. He later stated that “they can never beat you if you buy the dips.”
However, the president faced severe criticism from many people concerning his actions—others termed his actions as reckless. It is uncertain whether Salvadorans will continue using BTC or ditch it.
