Key facts:
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The data requested by the wallet is to prevent theft or loss, according to Bukele.
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Funds can be exchanged for dollars at Chivo atms, without payment of fees.
The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, offered details on how the wallet from bitcoin (BTC), Chivo, a state proposal to boost cryptocurrency adoption in the country. Through a thread on Twitter, published yesterday June 28, the president explained that the purse proposed by the government is only one of many that can be used.
The head of State recalled that the Goat wallet will be compatible with other proposals that are available on the market. As for the personal information that the app requests from its users, Bukele indicated that the data is already handled by the government, but that in this case it will have another purpose.
“The personal data requested by the wallet the Government already has them. In the DUI (single identity document) we have the photo, full name, age, address, phone, height, fingerprints, etc. The purpose of entering data to the wallet is to prevent the theft or loss of the money in it”, note Bukele.
One aspect highlighted by the president is that the Goat wallet No generate fees or commissions for transactions that users perform. This includes sending or receiving remittances, making or receiving payments, converting bitcoin to dollars or vice versa. Bukele also mentioned that no commissions will be charged to businesses.
It follows from the foregoing that the wallet that the government enlists would be a custody proposal that will work on the Bitcoin Lightning network, that is, the transactions will be made outside the blockchain in principle. Being operations offchain payments do not require block confirmations and are made instantly.
The president also pointed out that all costs related to the implementation of BTC will be borne by the government. That includes finance cashiers, pay Chivo points workers and the software developments that are ahead. Comparing the expense that the country has to transport dollars from the United States, Bukele stressed that with Bitcoin it is “much cheaper”.
Withdrawal of dollars in ATMs and Chivo agencies
One of the main concerns of Salvadorans is how to exchange or spend the bitcoins they keep in their wallets. On this point Bukele emphasized that the money that is received or saved in the wallet can be withdrawn in dollars in cash at the time the user so considers.
“It can be done in the physical branches that will open from Chivo and in the Chivo ATMs. This will have NO commission. There will be more than 200 Chivo points (between ATMs and branches) in historic centers and shopping centers, where you can withdraw dollars in cash from the Chivo wallet. You can also make deposits, purchase bitcoin and other services. Everything will be without commission,” said the Central American president.
As for the conversion of dollars to bitcoin or vice versa, Bukele said that it is free, not mandatory, and can be done from the app, at any time, at the market price. The president also referred to the 30 dollars in BTC that will be paid to each portfolio of Salvadorans.
This funds cannot be converted into dollars since the government’s intention is that they be spent to promote the use of bitcoin as legal tender. “It’s not giving away money, but encouraging the use of bitcoin and the Goat wallet,” Bukele added. The Chivo wallet was introduced last week by the president himself in a nationwide joint broadcast, a fact also reported by CriptoNoticias.