Fintech Bitso, a cryptocurrency platform, said on Tuesday it will be the core service provider for Chivo, the bitcoin digital wallet launched in El Salvador as it becomes the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender.
Bitso said it will work with Silvergate Bank, a U.S. federally regulated and California state-chartered bank, to facilitate transactions in U.S. dollars.
“We are looking forward to working with El Salvador in an initiative that will transform payment structures and increase financial inclusion in the country,” said Santiago Alvarado, vice-president of Bitso for Business.
President Nayib Bukele, who pushed for the adoption of the cryptocurrency, has argued that using bitcoin will help Salvadorans save $400 million a year on commissions for remittances while giving access to financial services to those with no bank account.
Bitso said that its services accounted for the processing of more than $1.2 billion in remittances between the United States and Mexico in 2020 and that it would now apply its expertise to El Salvador, where some 70% of people lack adequate access to basic financial services.
Salvadorans last year sent home almost $6 billion from abroad, mostly from the United States. The sum is equivalent to some 23% of the country’s gross domestic product.
Bukele’s government has promised $30 of bitcoin for each user. Earlier on Tuesday, Salvadorans trying to download the Chivo digital wallet found it was unavailable on popular app stores.
