El Salvador’s Bitcoin wallet will launch on 7 September

Bitcoin’s official legal tender status in El Salvador will come into effect in a couple of weeks, and those who download the Chivo wallet will receive $30 in Bitcoin

El Salvador is the first country in the world to make Bitcoin a legal currency. The move is expected to come into effect in less than a month, and the government is now working on the necessary infrastructure.

President Nayib Bukele has revealed that the government-supported Bitcoin wallet will be launched on 7 September. This will be the day Bitcoin becomes an official legal tender in El Salvador.

Citizens can start downloading the Chivo wallet from 7 September. The government has maintained that downloading the wallet and using Bitcoin as a legal tender is optional. However, those who download and use the wallet will receive $30 in BTC.

According to President Bukele, the wallet will allow El Salvadorians to pay for goods and services using Bitcoin and the US dollar. Furthermore, tourists and people without citizenship will have access to the wallet as the government looks to promote the spending of BTC via the digital wallet.

The Chivo wallet will make it easy for people to convert BTC to US dollars and vice versa. The US dollar is the other official currency of El Salvador, and the government wants to make it easy for citizens to spend either of them.

El Salvador announced it would be adopting Bitcoin as legal tender a couple of months ago. Although it faced initial challenges after the World Bank turned down its request for help building the infrastructure, the government has been working hard to do it themselves.

Last week, Banco Central de Reserva (BCR), El Salvador’s central bank, published two documents to guide banks and other financial institutions on how to offer Bitcoin-related services to citizens.

The first document defines Bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador, revealing that it will come into effect on 7 September. The second document contains clear guidelines on how financial institutions in the country can offer Bitcoin services to their customers.