El Salvador decided to discontinue the government-created Bitcoin wallet, Chivo Wallet, as part of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This measure is announced as a requirement to access a loan of USD 1.4 billion from the multilateral organization.
Stacy Herbert, the director of the National Bitcoin Office of El Salvador, confirmed on X this Thursday that the Chivo Wallet will be discontinued.
According to Herbert, “the Chivo wallet will be sold or discontinued, but the numerous private sector bitcoin wallets will continue to serve El Salvador.”
🇸🇻EL SALVADOR SECURES $3.5 FUNDING DEAL
➡️Bitcoin remains legal tender
➡️El Salvador will continue buying bitcoin (at possibly an accelerated pace) for its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
➡️Bitcoin capital markets will continue to be built; for example, the recent tokenized issuance…
— Stacy Herbert 🇸🇻🚀 (@stacyherbert) December 19, 2024
The discontinuation of Chivo Wallet It is part of the reforms demanded by the IMF in the agreement reached on Wednesday with El Salvador, which establishes a gradual reduction of the government’s participation in the BTC wallet.
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The agreement also indicates that BTC policies will be significantly reducedaccording to IMF policies, as reported by CriptoNoticias on Wednesday.
For example, legal reforms will make the private sector’s acceptance of bitcoin voluntary. For the public sector, participation in economic activities related to BTC, as well as transactions and purchases of the currency, will be limited.
Among the requirements of the agreement, it stands out that taxes will only be paid in US dollars and not in BTC, as previously established. The agreement mentions that “transparency, regulation and supervision of digital assets will be improved to safeguard financial stability, consumer and investor protection and financial integrity.”
With the IMF announcement and Herbert’s confirmation, a Bitcoin wallet that operated for just over 3 years says goodbye. Launched on September 7, 2021, this application It was the first gateway to the world of BTC for Salvadoransremembering that, through him, the government of Nayib Bukele transferred 30 dollars equivalent in BTC to the first registered.
Chivo Wallet, which also brought with it the implementation of at least 50 ATMs distributed in different parts of the country, It reached up to 3 million usersaccording to the platform’s estimates.
Although not everything was good for that wallet. Practically since it was launched, registrations began failures and problems among users Salvadorans. As reported by CriptoNoticias, there were cases of reports of accounts being emptied, as well as unlinked data and even leaking of private information.
El Salvador will continue buying bitcoin
Despite the restrictions, Stacy Herbert clarified that El Salvador “will continue to purchase bitcoin (possibly at an accelerated rate) for its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.” Herbert also noted that BTC remains legal tender in El Salvador and that currency capital markets “will continue to be built” in the country.
Likewise, Herbert said that the Bitcoin Office will continue to develop policies and roadmaps, attract investors and create educational programs. These initiatives include new workbooks “for little second- and third-grade HODLers by January 2025,” the board noted.
He also commented that the CUBO+ program will continue to educate elite talents in Bitcoin and Lightning network development in El Salvador, “with a new group of more than 20 students graduating at the end of January 2025,” commented Herbert.
“Programs such as My First Bitcoin and Node Nation will continue to be taught in secondary schools in El Salvador, and the Higher School of Innovation in Public Administration will maintain its bitcoin certification program for 80,000 public officials,” he added.
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