By Shelly Melancon (Switzerland)
It appears that El Salvador residents are now ditching the US Dollar for Bitcoin, reports suggest. Data retrieved showed that more requests for exchanging US dollars for Bitcoin have been made, with the trading volume reaching seven figures in one day. As confirmed by President Nayi Bukele, Chivo, El Salvador’s proprietary wallet, received 24,076 requests to exchange US Dollars for bitcoin. Those requests have brought in a total of $3,069,761.05 in just 24 hours.
Since President Bukele announced that Congress has approved the adoption of bitcoin as a legal tender in El Salvador, the cryptocurrency has experienced a few dips and is currently on a strong bullish trend. This might have prompted Salvadorans to increase their requests for exchanging US Dollars for bitcoin in an attempt to move their savings from fiat to cryptocurrency which they perceive to be growing faster.
The president shared this news in a tweet on Friday when he updated the world about the current bitcoin adoption. Sharing recent data obtained from Chivo, president Nayib said that the rate and volume of US Dollars being exchanged for bitcoin on Chivo have now surpassed the rate and volume of withdrawals made from Chivo ATMs (which convert bitcoin to fiat US Dollars).
This development shows a willingness of Salvadoreans to embrace bitcoin and increase its use in El Salvador’s economy. President Bukele further called on independent news agencies to verify his statements through a visit to any Chivo ATM in El Salvador. Commenting on the exact figures, president Bukele noted that the 24,076 purchase requests added up to a huge sum of $3,069,761.05 exchanged in one day.
Also read:Why Is This Important for El Salvador?
Mixed reactions followed president Bukele’s announcement in August that El Salvador will now accept bitcoin for local transactions. While the majority of people who spoke supported the move, there were pockets of protests in some places against the decision. Critics mentioned that cryptocurrencies are unstable and volatile, presenting more risks and problems to a struggling economy. It didn’t help that just a few days after the announcement, bitcoin crashed in a retracement move that saw prices dip. Towards the end of August, however, bitcoin regained momentum which it sustained throughout September. Just yesterday, the token crossed $60,000 for the first time since May, sparking global interest in future trends.
President Bukele earlier announced that the proceeds from bitcoin would be used to fund a veterinary hospital in the country as part of the early benefits that citizens will enjoy. This new announcement by president Bukele represents a major shift in the disposition of Salvadorans towards bitcoin. And given that the Bukele-led government announced certain bonuses such as tax exemptions and fuel subsidies, more US Dollar-BTC exchange requests are to be expected.
To facilitate BTC adoption, El Salvador has also installed over 200 Bitcoin ATMs across the country, making El Salvador the third-largest crypto ATM country in the world behind the U.S. and Canada
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