Hundreds of El Salvadorans flocked on microblogging site Twitter claiming that cryptocurrency Bitcoin has been vanishing mysteriously from their Chivo wallet.
For the uninitiated, in September, El Salvador became the world’s first nation to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, a move that generated global media attention but also attracted criticism from the opposition and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warning the country to not make Bitcoin a legal tender, considering risks related to the volatility of the cryptocurrency.
Chivo wallet is a crypto wallet for citizens to facilitate transactions in Bitcoin. It came into existence after the country’s eccentric but popular president Nayib Bukele on September 7, launched the wallet, after legalising Bitcoin as a currency in the country. In the past few months, large banks and merchants within the country have increased acceptance and credit functionalities leveraging the Chivo wallet.
According to the report by the New Scientist, the citizens of El Salvador are reporting that their Bitcoin has been disappearing from their Chivo wallets. It shopuld be noted that 50 such complaints have already been identified by El Comisionado till now. “The government has not responded, nor does it acknowledge the errors. It is one of the things people are demanding, that they respond to their complaints. Many have waited several months for a response to get the money back,” El Comissionado told the New Scientist.
Meanwhile, the government is yet to issue an official statement on the particular matter.
Earlier, in November, Bukele said that it plans to build the world’s first “Bitcoin City”, funded with the issuance of a $1 billion Bitcoin Bond. The city will be located along the Gulf of Fonseca near a volcano. Bukele’s administration is counting on Bitcoin to spur the country’s economic growth, and investment, assuming that Bitcoin price remains on an overall upward trajectory.
According to Bukele, the residents of Bitcoin city won’t have to pay any income, property, capital gains or even payroll taxes. The city would be built with attracting foreign investment in mind.
It should be noted that until November 26, El Salvador had 1,220 Bitcoins and the El Salavdoran President is on a spree of adding Bitcoin to its country funds.
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