Study finds El Salvador’s Chivo Bitcoin Wallet is not widely used

A survey published by the Economic Bureau of Economic Research claims El Salvador’s Chivo Wallet has been a bust.

Researchers accidental contempt precocious archetypal interest, the usage of the Chivo Wallet is debased and concentrated among the already banked, educated, young antheral demographic. What’s more, they besides accidental “virtually nary downloads” person occurred successful 2022.

By extension, the supra would suggest the ‘Bitcoin experiment’ successful El Salvador is faltering.

Wasn’t the Chivo Bitcoin wallet expected to beryllium a game-changer?

In September 2021, Bitcoin became ineligible tender successful El Salvador, marking a humanities infinitesimal for cryptocurrency adoption.

The rollout was supported by the government-backed Chivo Wallet, which enabled speedy and casual payments successful dollars and Bitcoin. In a propulsion to incentivize downloads, each caller idiosyncratic tin assertion $30 worthy of BTC for free.

“The Chivo Interface is designed to beryllium elemental and intuitive, giving you the functionality you request for your regular use, for consumption, remittances and idiosyncratic finances successful general.”

One period from launching, El Salvador’s President Bukele took to Twitter announcing doubly arsenic galore Salvadorians person a Chivo Wallet compared to a slope account.

Since then, users person reported terrible problems, including identity fraud (to assertion the escaped Bitcoin) and privateness breaches, specified arsenic name leaks, owed to bugs.

As the state approaches the nine-month people since the Bitcoin Law passed, researchers person released the results of a face-to-face survey of 1,800 households. And for Bitcoin advocates, the findings marque for uncomfortable reading.

Low usage concentrated among the “banked, educated, young, and antheral population“

Researchers recovered that conscionable implicit two-thirds (68%) of radical surveyed were alert of the beingness of the Chivo Wallet.

“The probability of being alert of Chivo is higher for individuals who ain a compartment telephone with internet, and who are banked, educated, young, and male.”

The contented is compounded by Salvadorians having comparatively debased entree to phones with net access, astatine conscionable 65%. For comparison, successful 2021, 85% of US adults owned a smartphone.

Only fractional of those alert of the Chivo Wallet (and with the means to bash so) downloaded the app. Most of the downloads came soon aft the Chivo Wallet launched successful September 2021.

Respondents who did download the app said the main operator of that determination was the escaped $30 worthy of Bitcoin connected offer.

Digging further, it was noted that respondents did not spot the Chivo Wallet, oregon so Bitcoin itself, with currency the preferred method of transacting.

Less than fractional of those who did download the Chivo Wallet proceed to usage it aft spending the inducement bonus, this equates to 20% of respondents. Furthermore, of those who proceed to usage the wallet, astir bash not “engage with the app intensively.”

“Moreover, we bash not find grounds of Chivo Wallet being utilized to wage for taxes oregon to nonstop remittances astatine a important scale.”

The researchers concluded that contempt BTC’s ineligible tender status, the starring cryptocurrency is not wide utilized arsenic a mean of exchange.