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BTC Wallets Being Used More Than Banks
President Nayib Bukele had provided updates at various stages after the adoption on how many people were using Chivo. The number had hit over one million users in the first ten days following September 7th. Subsequent weeks had seen even more adoption by residents who were beginning to accept the cryptocurrency.
BTC price drops down to low $60,000s | Source:Bitcoin was introduced as a way to make sure that residents of El Salvador, most of them largely unbanked, would have access to services that they would otherwise be locked out of. It would seem El Salvadorians have taken full advantage of this. Bukele took to Twitter to announce that as of November 15th, there were more people using bitcoin wallets than those holding bank accounts.
There is one country on Earth, where there are more people using wallets than bank accounts. Prolly nothing. — Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele)
Betting On Bitcoin
El Salvador’s support for bitcoin had not ended just at making it legal tender. The country had also bought the digital asset to show its commitment to its long-term growth. The first-ever purchase had been 200 BTC bought on the day the law went into effect. A promise was made to purchase more BTC, which has been done in the two months since.Related Reading | Crypto Analyst Says Bitcoin Won’t Hit $100,000 This Year, When Will It Hit?
The latest iteration of the country purchasing BTC was two weeks ago when it had purchased 420 BTC for $25 million. Bitcoin had dipped during this period and the country had taken advantage of the situation to add to its bitcoin stash, bringing the total of its holdings to 1,120 BTC.
The world is still looking to El Salvador to see how using a cryptocurrency as a legal tender will play out in the long term. For now, the nation seems to be doing just fine and adapting to the new normal of having a digital currency as a legal tender.Featured image from Permission.io, chart from TradingView.com