President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador intervened on Wednesday to oversee the rough launch of a payments app. The app underlies the country’s adoption of Bitcoin as legal cash. Additionally, he urged users to report any issues to his Twitter feed.
‘Currently Under Maintenance’
Bukele encouraged users to quit and restart the app if a “currently under maintenance” error screen occurred. Therefore, using wording similar to IT departments in offices worldwide.
The Central American country’s momentous adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender. However, various technical issues have contributed to a global decline in the value of cryptocurrency. As of 10 a.m. IST on September 9, the price of bitcoin in India was Rs. 36.4 lakhs.
Bitcoin Loses Value
On Wednesday, Bitcoin lost 1.7 percent of its value, closing at $46,000 (approximately Rs. 33.93 lakhs).
“Any financial innovation on this scale is going to come with teething problems. However, if we’ve learnt anything from watching the markets in the past year, it’s that Bitcoin maximalists will seek to push the digital currency back up just as quickly as it has fallen,” stated Michael Kamerman, chief executive of Scandinavian-owned fintech company Skilling.
Chivo App
Over the last 36 hours, Bukele instructed people on installing the government-backed Chivo app. Chivo offers commission-free operations and which his regime hopes that the unbanked would adopt.
The app, a digital wallet, was unplugged for the second time overnight, according to the president, to “improve user experience and the problems it had during the day.”
In a tweet, he said, “We hope that tomorrow will be much better.”
The Issues Still Preceed
Several individuals commented in his comments section, stating that they were still having issues with the installation.
El Salvador’s Bitcoin law specifies that the market will determine the exchange rate between the cryptocurrencies and the US dollar, the country’s other legal tender. All pricing can be indicated in Bitcoin, and tax payments can be paid in the digital currency, according to the document, which also states that currency transactions in Bitcoin are not susceptible to capital gains taxes.
