Salvadorans are now selling ‘way more’ US dollars to buy Bitcoin

Published at: Oct. 16, 2021

El Salvador’s mainstream Bitcoin (BTC) adoption is gaining momentum during the ongoing bull run as citizens are increasingly exchanging their U.S. dollar savings for BTC. 

President Nayib Bukele shared this new development on Twitter, based on data acquired from El Salvador’s in-house wallet service, Chivo. Bukele said:

“People are inserting way more USD (to buy #BTC) than what they are withdrawing from the Chivo ATMs.”

He also urged media outlets to independently confirm the above information by visiting the ATMs. President Bukele further stated that Chivo has reported 24,076 remittance requests, “adding up to $3,069,761.05 in one day.”

2 new Chivo Facts:1. People are inserting way more USD (to buy #BTC) than what they are withdrawing from the Chivo ATMs (any media outlet can independently confirm this by visiting the ATMs).2. Today, we received 24,076 remittances, adding up to $3,069,761.05 (in one day).

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) October 16, 2021

The increase in dollar-to-Bitcoin conversions within the jurisdiction reflects a change in investor sentiment, which initially faced resistance during adoption from the general public. Moreover, the Salvadoran government offers various subsidies for using Bitcoin such as fuel subsidies and tax exemptions. 

Related: El Salvador ranks third in global Bitcoin ATM installations, data finds

El Salvador has installed over 200 ATMs after adopting Bitcoin as a legal tender, making it the third-largest network of crypto ATMs after the United States and Canada.

As Cointelegraph reported, El Salvador exceeded United Kingdom’s crypto ATM count after deploying 205 crypto ATMs, mainly to facilitate local Bitcoin transactions and Bitcoin-to-dollar conversions.

Recently, the Salvadoran government announced it will build a $4 million veterinary hospital using the profits attained during the Bitcoin bull market. According to President Bukele, the veterinary hospital will host four operating rooms, four emergency clinics, 19 offices and a rehabilitation area. “We decided to invest a part of that money in this: a veterinary hospital for our furry friends.”

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Adoption
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